What is to Come
by xmenfan33
Summary: It starts with a warning and weaves its way throughout their lives as enemies become allies, unspeakable threats arise and the X-men transition from teenagers into adulthood. Only one thing remains certain for them: The X-men will fight for the good of mankind.
1. Chapter 1

__**What is to Come**__

 _It starts with a warning and weaves its way throughout their lives as enemies become allies, unspeakable threats arise and the X-men transition from teenagers into adulthood. Only one thing remains certain for them: The X-men will fight for the good of mankind._

 **AU Post series combining elements from Comics, Wolverine and the X-men, X-men TAS, X-men Evolution, and using X-men Evolution's settings and background history, for the most part.**

 **A/N Updates will be slower, about once a week.**

Chapter One

Gambit had remained with his family for just a day following his rescue mission. He had been on his way back to Bayville when he had his first 'slip'. Gambit was not used to slips, though he had suffered from them (as most do) when his powers manifested. He had figured out how to control the power by the time he was fourteen. As far as he was concerned, the ability to cause anything he touched to explode meant that he had to gain control of it quickly. It had been a complete shock to him after having control for the last five years, his bike began to glow beneath him.

Worse still he had been unable to pull the charge back into himself. With mounting horror, he pulled into the next (thankfully deserted) rest stop, jumped from the bike, and ran as quickly as he could toward the bathrooms. The resulting explosion, which reached him as he reached the door, had thrown him several yards into the woods as it left the biggest crater he could remember ever creating.

His last thought before passing out was that he was grateful no one else had been around. He woke, a couple of hours later, to the realization that he was no longer alone. He was confused, but also concerned for the person sitting across from him after all he had no idea why he had lost control.

There had been times - many of them- that he had since wished that something had happened then. The man who sat there across from him in that hospital room, had turned out to be the worst monster he had ever encountered.

"Hello, Mr. LeBeau." the man said. "I'm Dr. Essex, you seem to have run into some trouble."

"Did anyone get hurt?"

"Aside from yourself, no."

"What happened?"

"Your lost control, my boy, your powers have spiked, and you no longer can control them, not without help. "Dr. Essex replied, as he stood and walked over to Gambit. "You could try on your own, which would have disastrous results, or you could allow me to assist you."

Gambit was still confused, his head was killing him and making thought difficult. He knew however that if that had happened in a crowded area like a mall, or his family home, or a place like Xavier's, there would have been very few survivors. Still reeling at this realization, he slowly nodded his head, agreeing to allow the man to help him.

Had he known that the next few weeks were going to be filled with unimaginable pain, he would likely have taken more time to think about his agreement, however it wasn't the torture of the procedures that made Gambit sick to his stomach. It wasn't the brutality of the experiments that made him look for a way out. No it was the realization that Essex was the most sinister man he had ever encountered.

Three weeks after he had arrived Gambit realized he was a prisoner. A week after that, he realized he wasn't the only one who was imprisoned there. He had been wandering the halls looking for an escape route when he found the other experiments.

It was another six weeks before he had been called into Essex's office. Essex had decided it was time to discuss Gambit's payment. With growing horror, he listened to the man all the while keeping his expression impassive.

Essex didn't want his money, of which he had been willing to part, what he wanted was an assassin. Gambit had done a lot of terrible things in his short life. He was a thief and proud of it. He had become a mercenary to get away from his family which he was not so proud of, but this... he nodded numbly, before taking the file and walking out of the room. He needed a way out, and he needed it now.

~0~o~0~

Rogue was seriously reconsidering the Professor's offer to let her finish the term remotely. Bayville High had made the offer at the end of the year, just before their battle with Apocalypse and at the time she had refused. It was bad enough that she would be graduating half a year late thanks to several absences over the last two years, it would be worse (in her opinion) to hide while she finished.

Then Apocalypse happened, and the whole world watched. She hadn't thought anything of it at the time after all, she may have given the 'final blow' but the whole team - the teams in fact- had played their part. At her first day back to Bayville High however, it became painfully apparent to her that was not how the world had seen the event.

For the most part the reaction had been positive, but it was still hard on her. Rogue preferred to remain in the background and distant as much as possible. Her mutation, the ability to absorb the memories and powers of anyone who touched her, made being around others difficult for her. She had yet to learn to control her powers so touch made her nervous.

She lost count of the number of people today who insisted on patting her shoulder or shaking her hand, and so she had decided by the final bell that she was not coming back if she could help it. She would talk the Xavier and Logan about it as soon as she got home. It wasn't as though running away pleased her, but the stress of all of the attention made it impossible to concentrate.

Rogue was distracted by these thoughts as she walked to the parking lot, passing between the main building and the gym through the narrow alley where she had once been kidnapped. This thought occurred to her as a hand snaked out from a darkened doorway and pulled her through it. A hand clamp over her mouth as someone whispered. " _Shh_ , I'm not going to hurt you."

Rogue's eyes widened with anger as she intentionally stomped as hard as she could on his foot and elbowed him in the stomach at the same time. There was a grunt of pain in response but his grip didn't change as he said in a slightly louder voice. "I ain't kidnapping you Cher, I need your help."

Rogue stopped struggling and he removed his hand. He still kept a tight grip around her waist refusing to let her move. "That's exactly what you should have said last time, Swap Rat, that you needed my help."

"I know. Listen I don't have much time 'fore they realize I'm gone. Gotta get a good cover for when that happens."

"Who-"

"It don't matter, that's my problem. There's a group of mutants that need the X-men's help. Now. Tonight."

"How-"

"I just know, that's all you need to know." Remy said as he pushed a file folder into her hands. "Everything you need to know is in there. Good luck."

Before she could react or even turn around he was gone. She caught a brief glimpse of his coat as he slipped out of the doorway. Frowning she opened the file, as she wondered if she should just throw it away, after all she had been tricked by this man before. She read the first two lines in the folder and eyes wide with fright she shoved it deep into her bag. Rogue ran full force to the parking lot, arriving just as Kitty and Kurt unlocked the door fighting over who got to drive.

"Get in, shut up, and buckle up." Rogue said in a rushed voice, as she jumped in the driver's seat.

Kitty started to protest, but Kurt took one look at Rogue's face and climbed in. "What happened?"

"Gambit just grabbed me." Rogue replied as she hit reverse, not waiting for Kitty to buckle her seat belt.

"What?!" the other two screamed together, looking around as if they expected him to be in the car with them.

"He's gone now, that ain't what's important, I need to talk to the Professor right now!" Rogue replied as she slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting another car. There was a line at the exit of the parking area.

Kurt looked at the line, looked at his sister, and then glanced at Kitty before he said. "Park."

Rogue frowned at him for a moment, before returning her attention to the horn. "Rogue, park, I can get us there faster."

Rogue reluctantly pulled into the closest parking space as Kitty moved to grab Kurt's shoulder. Rogue pocketed the keys as she gripped her backpack and took Kurt's hand. With a wisp of blue smoke and the smell of sulfur they found themselves right outside of the Professor's office.

Kitty wrinkled her nose and waved the smoke away as Rogue marched into the office without knocking. Xavier, Logan, and Dr. McCoy were in the middle of a meeting as she walked in. Without hesitating she opened her bag and pulled out the folder.

"Gambit just gave me this. "Rogue said as Logan growled, when passed him he smelled the man on her clothing. "Evan's going to die in the morning if we don't do something."

Charles Xavier calmly picked up the file, and began to read. He showed no outward reaction to Rogue's claim, though he was in fact very shocked by it. He carefully read the first page before he looked up at Logan long enough to instruct him to gather the X-men.

Rogue followed Logan out of the door to go change into her uniform. She had hoped that Xavier would look at the file and tell her she was wrong, or that it was fake. Judging by the slight strain in his voice this was far more serious than she had thought though.

Kitty and Kurt had been waiting for her in the hall, Logan barked 'Suit up' to them as he passed. They looked questioningly at Rogue as they all made their way quickly up the stairs to change. She shook her head, guessing that Xavier would explain the situation and assuming they didn't have time for questions. Especially as she didn't have any answers.

Ten minutes later Xavier rolled into the War Room, which was crowded with uniformed confused X-men. Most of them had barely reached the front gates when Logan had told them to go to the War Room in an unusually short tone. Logan was always short, so they knew whatever happened was serious. Logan however had not followed them back inside, instead he headed toward the Greenhouse.

As Xavier entered the room, it shook with a clap of thunder. Rogue and Xavier both guessed that Logan had broken the news to Ororo. Xavier continued on however, not wanting to waste time waiting for the two of them to arrive.

"We have a mission, someone has threatened the safety of the Morlocks, and we need to help them relocate to a safe place by morning. However, we also need to convince them that there is indeed a good reason to relocate. Rogue, Nightcrawler, you are going to go with Storm into the tunnels to meet with Evan and the others. Wolverine will lead the rest of the team to keep watch and ensure no one approaches the tunnel during this meeting."

~0~o~0~

Gambit hoped they would listen to his warning. It was the only thing he could think of when he had found the way out this morning. He had actually briefly thought of Magneto as well, however he had no idea how to find his former employer. He had, in fact, spent months building a false trail so the man could not find him when he chose to escape.

It wasn't until he managed to slip out that it really hit him the false trail had been a double edged sword. No one had been looking for him, but even if they had been they wouldn't have found him. Sometimes he was his own worst enemy.

He made sure to be well away from Bayville before being spotted. He allowed a gas station camera a brief glimpse of him, before he further laid the trail by renting a motel room under his real name, as much as that went against everything he was ever taught, and then found the first bar he could. He immediately joined a back room poker game where he made sure to win so well that the others were complaining loudly about him.

He needed it to look like the only reason he left the base was to engage in his normal pre-battle behavior. If there was any hope for those poor people, Essex must not suspect he shared the information with anyone else. That's why he had made sure to photocopy the entire file at the library and still had the original file in the bottom of his bag which was at his side. He was both relieved and depressed when one of Essex's guards arrived to collect him an hour later.


	2. Chapter 2

_What is to Come_

Chapter Two

Ororo Monroe, also known as Storm among those who knew her well, was their best chance of getting an audience with the Morlocks, however Rogue's message and her abilities were their best chance of saving them. Kurt was along as an assurance to the sewer-dwelling Morlocks that the X-men were accepting and open to physical mutations.

In light of this Kurt had left his watch in the car. The watch contained an image inducer, which could hide his features behind a 'normal face'. Kurt, known as Nightcrawler, in his natural appearance was covered from head to foot in soft blue fur. He had a prehensile tail, only three fingers on each hand and fangs. He had spent his entire childhood with people fearing him. Since the gift of the watch was given to him when he arrived at Xavier's Kurt avoided turning it off whenever he was outside of the mansion. The only reason, in fact, that he turned it off inside the mansion was he had been told he had to.

Ororo shivered as they waited in the tunnel, staring back at the way they came in as they waited for her nephew, Evan. Rogue looked at her with concern but didn't say anything. They all were well aware of the woman's phobia of enclosed spaces. This trip was going to be terrible for her. Only her love for her nephew could make Ororo willingly walk further into the underground labyrinth of tunnels.

A figure emerged from the shadows a moment later, covered in bone-armor plating, dressed in ragged clothing and looking very worn. "Hello Evan." Rogue said, drawing Ororo's attention.

"It's Spyke now. Just Spyke. Hello Rogue, Nightcrawler, Auntie 'Ro..Storm." He said as he stepped closer. "What was so urgent that you needed to speak to me immediately."

"We received a warning...Rogue?" Ororo said, as she turned to the girl. Rogue shrugged, but understood.

"About an hour ago, Gambit grabbed me-"

"Are you okay?" Spyke interrupted.

"I'm fine. The point is, someone's coming here in the morning to kill you all."

"Thanks, we'll-"

"You can't fight these guys, Spyke. They're bad enough they scare him and-"

"That's not up to me."

With that Sypke wordlessly turned and walked back down the tunnel he had come from. They stared after him for a moment before Ororo looked back at the opening once more then followed, the others following her lead.

He led them through the winding passages, sometimes switching to a new tunnel, sometime putting up a single hand as he listened ahead. Eventually, after what felt to them like close to an hour, he paused outside of a chamber. They could see light spilling from within and hear the soft murmur of voices. He said simply "Wait here." before disappearing into the chamber.

They listened growing nervous as the murmur of voices rose. A woman yelled distinctly about trusting topsiders, but whatever else had been said was lost to the garbled shouts of others. Eventually the voices calmed slightly and Spyke reappeared in the mouth of the camber to wave them in.

The chamber was part of the over-spill system, a round room with high walls, and many ledges. At the moment those ledges were filled with men, women, and children with varying degrees of mutations. Everything from oddly colored hair like Ororo's stark white and Rogue brown with the distinctive white streak, to visible changes that put Kurt teeth and tail to shame. Still, it was apparent by the way they relaxed as the X-men entered the chamber that Charles had chosen well when he decided who would enter the tunnels.

"I wish to hear this warning for myself Topsiders." said a woman sitting opposite of the chamber opening. She had an eye patch, frail frame, and was holding a long staff. Since she was clearly the leader based on how the others looked at her, Ororo strode toward her with a pleasant smile.

"My name is Storm, as many of you know I am Spyke's aunt, and I frequently come to the edges of these tunnels with gifts for him and for you all. I am no stranger to several of you here today." Ororo began. "We came today with a warning. This afternoon young Rogue received a threat to you all that will be executed tomorrow at dawn."

"How reliable is this source?" The woman said.

"Calypso, as I told you moments ago, Rogue cannot be lied to. A single touch and she knows everything you know. You can't block her or give her fake memories like a telepath, because what she takes from you is you." Spyke said.

Rogue opened her mouth both to protest what he said about how strong she was and to tell them she hadn't absorbed Gambit this time. She stopped however when she saw the look Ororo was giving her. It apparently didn't matter if Rogue protested however, it was evident by the look on Calypso's face that the woman felt his claim was overconfident.

Spyke saw the look on her face too, and was frustrated by it. He understood the distrust of the Topsiders, and shared it, but this was different. If Rogue said that there was danger coming, it was coming. He saw only one way to prove it to them though, by allowing Rogue to reveal something he had so far only told Calypso. "I can prove it. Calypso you know what we spoke of last night, you know I have not been in contact with my Aunt aside from today, do you agree?"

"Yes. If she can repeat what you said."

Spyke held out his hand to Rogue, who hesitated. She hadn't absorbed anyone since Apocalypse, and had hoped to avoid doing so again. Xavier had told her to avoid it if at all possible for the next few months to allow her mind time to rest following the events of the previous year. He seemed to fear her having another incident where she lost control and became overwhelmed by the shades in her mind.

However, she reasoned, Storm overcame her fear for this, so had Kurt. Rogue could do this too. This was more important than her comfort. "Think of exactly what you want me to take, so I can let go right away, okay?" Rogue instructed as she removed her glove. She had no idea if that would actually work but hoped it would. Spyke nodded, and Rogue took his hand.

 _ _The semi-darkness of the sleeping chamber was a welcome relief with the headache Evan had been suffering all day. He stumbled in and fell onto his mat prepared to sleep off whatever this was that was making him hurt so badly. All day long, everything had seemed overly bright and loud. The normally comforting sounds of the voices echoing throughout the tunnels had been torture.__

 _ _He had barely drifted off, it felt like moments, when he felt the sharp jab of a boot in his side. He looked up to see Calypso standing over him with a scowl on her face. He nodded and sat up to follow her. Whatever he had done to upset her wasn't going to wait for morning.__

 _ _As soon as they reached the tunnel, she turned on him. "Are you drunk? Drugged?"__

 _"_ _ _What?! No!"__

 _"_ _ _Then why are you weaving all over the place, your eyes bloodshot, and you left guard duty an hour early? I hear reports of you shirking duties all day."__

 _"_ _ _...I'm spiking." Spyke said with a voice both full of realization and irony.__

 _"_ _ _You're what?"__

 _"_ _ _I've been sick all day. Headaches, lights and sounds bothering me, my bones ache and I feel dizzy. The last time I felt like this I was spiking. Mutating. My powers are changing me again."__

 _ _Caylpso leaned forward to stiff his breath, and stare carefully into his eyes, before she finally nodded. "I'll arrange for you to have tomorrow off. I am sorry I questioned you, but do not make me regret believing you now."__

 _ _He hesitated, this was the opening he and Jade had been waiting for all week, if he was ever going to tell her, now was the time. He'd never gain the courage when he was in his right mind. She was nearly out of sight when he said. "Jade and I...we went to the Topside on Friday."__

 _"_ _ _I know; you were sent to gather supplies."__

 _"_ _ _No. I mean, yes, we gathered supplies, but we went to the Topsiders. The courthouse. We were married."__

 _"_ _ _Ridiculous. You both are still seventeen. By their laws you can't marry."__

 _"_ _ _We both turned eighteen on Thursday. Remember my Aunt brought cakes with the supplies to celebrate."__

 _"_ _ _So you talked to your Aunt and all of a sudden you needed a Topsider paper instead of our own ceremony."__

 _"_ _ _My Aunt knows nothing of this. She would say we are too young to marry in any way."__

 _"_ _ _We will not recognize Jade as your wife until you have done it properly. I will speak to her tomorrow."__

Rogue shook her head, as Spyke swayed on his feet. "Wow, we really stepped into a mess didn't we? Bad timing all around." Rogue said, and Spyke nodded, before she turned to Calypso. "So, did you speak to Jade yet?"

Calypso stared at her before stating. "Is that your proof?"

"No this is." Rogue replied, taking a deep breath, then she began allowing the dialect of Evan to take over for the remainder of the speech. "- "Are you drunk? Drugged?" "What?! No!" "Then why are you weaving all over the place, your eyes bloodshot, and you left guard duty an hour early? I hear reports of you shirking duties all day." "...I'm spiking." "You're what?" "I've been sick all day. Headaches, lights and sounds bothering me, my bones ache and I feel dizzy. The last time I felt like this I was spiking. Mutating. My powers are changing me again." "I'll arrange for you to have tomorrow off. I am sorry I questioned you, but do not make me regret believing you now." "Jade and I...we went to the Topside on Friday." "I know; you were sent to gather supplies." "No. I mean, yes, we gathered supplies, but we went to the Topsiders. The courthouse. We were married." "Ridiculous. You both are still seventeen. By their laws you can't marry." "We both turned eighteen on Thursday. Remember my Aunt brought cakes with the supplies to celebrate." "So you talked to your Aunt and all of a sudden you needed a Topsider paper instead of our own ceremony." "My Aunt knows nothing of this. She would say we are too young to marry in any way." "We will not recognize Jade as your wife until you have done it properly. I will speak to her tomorrow."-"

The chamber was silent as Rogue finished. Ororo turned to her nephew unsure whether to be concerned over his mutation, over saddened that he felt he needed to keep parts of his life secret like this. She however didn't get a chance to say anything. Rogue's display had convinced Calypso who was now ordering her people to gather what they could and be ready to leave in ten minutes.

"Where will we go?" said an old woman with a handkerchief around her head.

"Home with us, until the danger has passed. That is if you would like to. The invitation was intended but we only got as far as the warning." Kurt said.

Calypso reluctantly agreed, she had no other immediate plan, and immediate is what they needed. Ororo nodded and informed them that she would tell those waiting outside that they were coming before she turned to leave. It took every ounce of willpower she possessed not to run down the tunnels toward the light. The walls had been steadily growing in on her as the meeting had gone on, and she wasn't certain how much longer she could have stood it.

~0~o~0~

Hank and Logan had rented two charter buses to bring everyone home. They were now waiting outside the tunnel, along with the van driven by Scott. Hank was waiting behind the wheel and Logan was waiting outside the bus. Unlike Kurt Hank didn't like the image inducer. It was not something he used regularly, though he was wearing it now. He had covered his massive bulk and blue fur in the image of a slightly balding man who looked like he could be a football player or wrestler.

As Ororo waited at the mouth of the tunnel (she had been unable to talk herself into going back in) she filled the others in on what had happened inside. Logan frowned when he learned Rogue had absorbed Evan as proof, as well as them allowing the Morlocks to think that Rogue had absorbed Gambit.

He understood the need for occasional deceit but he was unsure if Scott or Charles would. He had seen the flash of red behind Scott's visor when Ororo had explained that part, and how the young man had stiffened. Hopefully he would understand that getting these people to safety had to came first.

He was far more concerned in fact about Rogue absorbing Evan. Charles had warned she needed a break and Logan wasn't looking forward to the idea of 'Stripes' as he had nicknamed her spending another week in the medlab. No, he felt now would be a good time to once more bring up her finishing school online. That way they could keep an eye on her and make sure she was handling it before it got to bad again.

Logan was shaken from this thought process when the first of the Morlocks emerged from the tunnel, carrying shopping bags, cardboard boxes, and in some cases bundles of clothing held together with ties up shirts. Logan had been alive a very long time, and though he didn't remember most of his long life anymore, this sight bothered him, not because he had never seen this level of poverty but because he had, many times before.

He watched them all climb aboard the buses waiting for Rogue to emerge. Eventually she came out with Kurt, Evan, a woman in an eye patch he didn't recognize, and a teenage girl who was holding Evan's hand as he whispered reassurances to her. The girl looked to be Evan's age, and was about his height with striking purple hair and eyes. Ororo walked over to the group and asked the purple haired girl if she was Jade. When the girl nodded Ororo hugged her warmly and said "Welcome to the family." Logan was curious what was going on, but was more concerned with getting everyone away from there now.

~0~o~0~

The Marauders and the Nasty Boys were the names given to Essex's teams of killers. He had assigned Remy to be with the Marauders this morning. It was an unpleasant surprise for him however, when Sabretooth arrived at the truck just as Remy was climbing in.

Looking from Sabretooth, who was glaring back at him past his matted shaggy blond hair, to Blockbuster, a large black man roughly the size of a small elephant, to Scalphunter, a Native American about the size and weight of Blockbuster, Remy knew his chances of coming back out of those tunnels was not good. They were going to figure out someone had tipped off the Morlocks, and he was the only one, as far as he knew, who had been out yesterday.

They entered the tunnels just ten minutes before dawn, and were aware that something wasn't right as soon as they did. It was too quiet, there were no sentries standing near the openings as were expected. They quickly made their way to the central chambers marked on the maps they had been given to realize it was empty. Not just of people, but any evidence people had ever been here.

Either they had gone to the wrong place, or someone had warned the Morlocks of what was coming. The others were arguing among themselves and Remy attempted to sneak out in the chaos. He guessed it was the only chance he was going to get. He had known when he allowed them to find him yesterday that he may never be free again, and he could live with that. After all, if the price of his freedom was the loss of dozens of lives then it wasn't worth it. After all that's how he landed in this mess in the first place, being afraid of hurting dozens of people.

Unfortunately, Sabretooth noticed him leave. He never got further than the next tunnel. The others had known as soon as he slipped away who the informant had been. He didn't care if they killed him as long as the innocent children he had seen in those pictures were safe. Which he gladly told the others as he spat blood onto the floor and crumpled to the ground as his ribs caved in from the force of the blows. He knew then he was going to die. But he was going to die in peace.


	3. Chapter 3

_What is to Come_

Chapter Three

It had been a rough couple of weeks at Xaviers' with the new additions. They had originally worried how they were going to make them all fit, but Calypso settled that one quickly by insisting they all be housed together. So the ballroom had become a temporary dorm with dozens of bunk beds set up against the far walls and back half of the floorspace, and tables set up closer to the door so that everyone could be easily fed without having to resort to shifts as Hank had suggested.

Still the logistics of housing three dozen people in a ballroom was a temporary fix, not one Charles wanted to become permanent. Instead he had gotten to work speaking to the contractors who normally repaired the mansion. He decided he would simply build onto the school. For their own comfort, he would make it officially a separate building, two in fact, but they were attached to the mansion by a breezeway.

Calypso had protested, stating that they had no intention of staying at Xavier's long term but he assured her that he was simply moving forward with a long term plan. He explained the need for a second building addition away stating they would eventually be the boys' dorm and girls' dorm. This assured the woman and Charles mentally thanked Logan for the foresight to know that she would try to refuse unless he explained it wasn't being done for them. She was very prideful of her ability to care for her people, and he understood but this was more practical and safe, so he was willing to let her think whatever she wanted as long as they remained here and safe as long as possible.

There had been issues from the first full day they had been here, when Calypso and Ororo had argued over the X-men congratulating Evan on his marriage. She was insulted both that they were using his other name and that they were ignoring the fact that he was not married to Jade according to the Morlock rules until the leader preformed the ceremony. Jade had attempted to smooth this one over by asking Calypso to do so. Calyspo responded peevishly informing her that she had already decided she was too good for Morlock laws. The girl left in tears with Spyke following close behind her, which is when Ororo learned Jade was Calypso's daughter. Understanding better the mess her nephew had walked himself into, Ororo continued to try to smooth things over.

Things had not much improved for the young couple since then, though neither Calypso or Ororo were outwardly causing trouble between the two groups both felt the other was being unreasonable. It was one of the many reasons Xavier was in such a hurry to get the additions built.

~0~o~0~

Scott had asked Charles if he was certain that he didn't mind Scott and Jean taking the evening off to go to dinner, twice. They had both been assigned to kitchen duty tonight but it was the only night the restaurant had an opening this month. Charles assured him it was fine and had asked Rogue and Jubilee to take their place.

They had a pleasant evening, their first quiet meal alone in months. Everything had gone exactly the way Scott had planned. He smiled across the small table to Jean who looked very grown up tonight in a simple black dress and her long red hair pulled back in a french knot. He himself was dressed in a simple suit with his usual red glasses. The glasses, though he hated having to wear them on nights like this, prevented his powers to cause any harm. He like Rogue had yet to gain control of his powers, so whenever he opened his eyes lasers shot from them.

Dessert of chocolate mousse had just been served, along with the check, when Scott decided it was time. He knelt before her and said. "Jean. We've known each other since we were children, have grown up together, and I know I've loved you far longer than I admitted. I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you and even though we are young I want to assure you that will never change. Jean, my love, will you marry me?"

The whole restaurant was watching. People had begun to applaud at the end of his speech, but Jean just stared at him in silence. The brief clapping ended and they all seemed to be waiting for her answer. Scott began to sweat slightly. "...No."

Before Scott registered what she had said, Jean was out of her seat and halfway to the door. He hurriedly followed her, dropping a wad of cash on the table to cover the tip. "No?! What do you mean no? We've talked about this a dozen times Jean! We talked about getting married and having children and-"

"I don't want to get married, I'm not sure I even want children, and what kind of world would we be bringing them into anyway Scott?"

"So what? Everything we talked about was a lie? You were just trying to say what I wanted to hear? Do you even love me?" Scott said, stopping in front of her forcing her to look at him.

"...I don't know." Jean replied.

"I see." Scott opened the car door for her, his manners winning out over his anger, before climbing in himself.

The ride back to the mansion was going to be a long one Jean realized when Scott silently shifted gears and pulled away.

~0~o~0~

Piotr, who had come home with them following the battle with Apocalypse, and his new girlfriend Kitty were having a much more pleasant evening across town. They had begun dating two weeks after the battle.

Kitty had realized Piotr liked her the day they returned, and she liked him as well, but he refused to approach her. He felt (according to Kurt who was his friend) that he did not deserve to like one of the girls in the X-men, not after everything he had done. Kitty had tried to talk to him, to tell him no one really blamed him for what had happened then but he was avoiding her.

Then Lance called. Lance and Kitty had come to an understanding months before. They were better off a friends, in fact he had called to tell her that he and Tabitha had finally begun dating. Kitty felt this was an odd match considering Tabitha was very fond of torturing the others in the Brotherhood house and was known for stealing Lance's jeep frequently.

"Admit it. You decided to ask her out so when she takes your car you can say it's cool cause she's 'like your girlfriend and the other guys won't make fun of you anymore." Kitty said.

Piotr hadn't heard this part of the conversation, of course because after yelling happily "Hi Lance" into the phone she had phased herself through the ceiling up into her room. She knew that trying to make Poitr jealous enough to ask her out was deceitful. She was willing to try it at this point though because he was so stubborn.

That evening while she was out at the gazebo looking over the water to watch the sunset, Piotr had finally asked her out. It had been so rushed she's had to ask him to repeat himself three times, but then she had agreed.

Tonight on their evening walk Piotr led her out to the gazebo. "Do you remember when I asked to be my date?"

"Yes, of course." Kitty replied with a smile. She had been honest with him a week later, and told him that Lance was just her friend and that she had let Piotr think otherwise to get him to finally talk to her.

"Katya." Piotr said, then coughed. He was nervous, and was not very good at expressing himself in words, preferring his art. "Katya... I know we've barely met, and I'm not too good at talking like this, but I knew that first day we talked I loved you. Will you marry me."

'Yes! Yes, a thousand times yes!" Kitty replied.

"I understand, we do not know each other well and I am being hast-...did you say yes?"

'Yes silly, I did." Kitty said as she giggled at his dumbfounded expression. Finally, it registered that she had agreed to marry him, and he pulled out a simple solitaire ring. It was in Kitty's opinion the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen. It was simple and understated, like their entire relationship appeared to the world.

~0~o~0~

Jean had attempted several times during the drive to get Scott to speak to her, but he just stared forward his knuckles white against the wheel and a tick in his jaw. She knew he wanted to scream and rave at her. Worse she knew she'd hurt him badly because she couldn't read him at all. He'd put up a wall between their minds that may as well have been made of steel.

For years, long before they even dreamed of dating, she had been able to read Scott, the two of them had been emotionally and telepathically connected nearly their entire teenage and young adult lives. The absence of that connection now was almost like being blindfolded for her. She was desperately grasping around in the dark searching for the anchor that had held her in place for so long. The worst part for her was all she could feel was the very edges of his hurt and anger.

She gave up finally about a block from the mansion and was pensively staring out her window as she tried to ignore the pain in his face. As the gates rolled open, she noticed something on the sidewalk next to the intercom. She leaned forward for a better look and gasped. "Scott, stop the car!"

"What is it now Jean?!" Scott said as he slammed on the breaks, but she was already opening the door.

He looked after her and saw the man as she checked his pulse. Scott Jumped from the car as he pulled out his com badge and accidentally hit the horn. Kitty and Piotr, who had been walking around the fence talking about their wedding, came running at the sound.

"Is he?" Kitty asked.

"He's alive, but just barely." Jean replied as she finished examining him.

"I'll carry Remy up to the house." said Piotr.

"Remy, is that his name?" Scott asked as Piotr turned to steel and grew several inches before gently lifted the battered Gambit into his arms like a small child. Scott called ahead with his communicator while the women followed Piotr. Scott then climbed back into his car to pull it inside the fence.

Hank, Logan, Charles, and Rogue met them at the door. Rogue gasped when she saw Remy's face in the light briefly before he was traded into Hank's arms who then ran with him to the med-lab. Logan growled at the smell of blood and glimpse of the young man. Charles had done the best of them all masking the shock he had felt seeing Gambit's condition as briefly as they had.

By the time they made it to the lab behind Hank, the Doctor was already prepping Gambit for surgery, he explained that he needed to operate right away to take pressure off of the man's heart and lungs, and to find out where he was bleeding. They nodded and all sat down for what they assumed would be a very long wait.

~0~o~0~

"Rogue must'nt know. None of them, but especially Rogue. She's feeling guilty enough as it is, and I fear for her fragile state." Charles said. Rogue had woken when he had started talking quietly but was pretending to still be asleep.

"I know Chuck, we agreed weeks ago. That don' change the fact that we knew it had gone bad for the boy and didn't do anything to help him." Logan said in an angry undertone.

"Logan, we couldn't help him, the trail stopped. You said so yourself. I've searched everyday with Cerebro for a clue to his whereabouts. Until he appeared on our door I feared him dead."

"I could've taken the whole team out, like I wanted to when I lost the trail. Should've let them come along. I knew when I smelled all that blood in the Tunnels they realized he'd tipped us off and turned on him."

Rogue frowned. They had known Gambit was in trouble since Logan had gone to check on the tunnels? But that had been weeks ago! That was just two days following Gambit's warning. They'd known all this time he was being hurt and they did nothing?

She sat up, frowning and intending to confront them with this information which was confirmed just by their expressions when Hank came out of the lab. She temporarily forgot her anger as her and Logan stood to meet him, Charles following in his wheelchair.

"He's stable. The damage was extensive." Hank said, going on to explain in detail what had been done to Charles and Logan. Rogue was waived in with a warning not to attempt to wake Gambit.

She felt incredibly guilty over the injuries. He had come to her asking for help, not for himself but for others. He had reached out proving he wanted to do the right thing. She'd been there. She was on the wrong side once too, and if Scott hadn't wanted to help her, she might still be.

She had seen it, even that day, that he was in trouble. She had ignored it, assuring herself that he could take care of himself, and that it was probably some sort of a trick again anyway. She had trusted him before and he'd been using her then. Now though, she felt like she let him down. How could she call herself the hero when she walked away from somebody in need?

"You didn't Rogue." said Charles from behind her. "He gave you his message and walked away. He didn't ask for your help, or you would have helped him. Logan tried to follow him after he realized they'd injured him, but was unable to track them all the way back to wherever they had hidden themselves. I know I should have told you all,however I did not want you to feel badly as you do now."

"If I had offered him a place-"

"We'll never know if he would have accepted. Remember back to your own time before the X-men Rogue. Remember that the door was always open, you just had to be ready to use it."


	4. Chapter 4

_What is to Come_

Chapter Four

It had been two weeks since Jean had spotted Gambit crumpled on the sidewalk and he was still in a coma. Everyday Piotr and Rogue went to sit with him for a while, and everyday Logan came in to check on him.

"He is not a bad man you know." Piotr said as Logan leaned on the doorway. "I know you were all thinking badly of him, and all of us. He was not bad though. No. He wasn't a cruel man. He wasn't an angry man either."

"Why was he there? You told us why you were there, but none of the others." Logan said, as he entered the room and pulled up a chair.

"It was not my story to tell...it still isn't"

"If you're gonna vouch for him, do it, otherwise leave it and let him prove himself when he wakes."

"He's is going to be angry enough I gave you his name, I'll give you no more without his knowledge. You want more? Ask Rogue, she knows too, from absorbing him."

"She has no real control over what she gets, there's no way to know if she knows anything."

"She does, we've spoken of it waiting here together." Piotr said, gesturing around the room as he stood to leave. "I cannot say she will tell you what you want to know though."

"I knew why he joined Magneto. I saw it the day I absorbed him in New Orleans. Only everything else was so fresh and garbled it wasn't until later I really saw it all. We need to ask him to stay Logan." Rogue said from the doorway. "He won't ask us if he can stay but he wants to be here, I'm sure of it."

"He was on his way here." Logan said. "A few months ago he called Charles and asked if he would be welcome if he arrived and Charles said he would be. That was the day after we got you back Stripes. He never arrived, we assumed he changed his mind."

"So how do you know he was coming here then?" Rogue said as she sat beside Logan.

"Because we found in the pocket of his coat the driving directions to the mansion, and it was scorched like it had been slightly burned. Hank noticed the fresh burn scars on his back and arms too. Charles thinks he had an accident with his powers. Says they're stronger than last time he encountered Gambit. He thinks that's what happened, but we won't know for sure until he wakes up and tells us."

They all watched the man in the bed, wondering if he would ever be able to answer their questions, and hoping he would. Hank arrived a few minutes later, to announce it was time to go so he could check over the patient.

~0~o~0~

Jean regretted her terrible reaction to Scott's proposal. She hadn't wanted to marry him, at least not right now, but she could have turned him down differently. She had reacted terribly, and was suffering for it. Scott was not a cruel person; he wasn't being mean to her at all. In fact, after that night he seemed to have decided to act like it had never happened at all.

Except the wall was still there. She didn't think it was there intentionally. She realized she had helped build it with her words and actions that night, and feared that they may never be able to tear it down.

Scott, for his part, was trying to forgive her. It wasn't turning him down that had left him so hurt, it was what she had said afterward. He felt he was being unfair to her, but he couldn't bring the block down himself. He had tried. He knew why his mind had put it up, and that the tidal wave of negative emotions and thoughts were a gut reaction from Jean, but he couldn't bring himself to lower his defenses, because he didn't think he could handle another dose of that level of hatred coming through their link.

It wasn't helping them either, that Kitty had wasted no time showing off her own ring. Everyone, including Jean and Scott were happy for the couple, but Scott couldn't help feeling a bit jealous. Not only was Kitty younger than them, they had been dating far less time than Jean had been with him. How had Piotr managed to pull it off?

Jean ironically was also jealous. Jealous that Kitty was so certain that it was the right path to take, when Jean wasn't sure what she wanted. Jealous too that the younger girl was likely going to marry before her. She knew it didn't make any sense, after all Scott had wanted to marry her and she had turned him down, but she was jealous of the other girl just the same.

She was worried she was going crazy, but didn't know what to do. If she went to the Professor and it really was happening again, then what? Jean didn't know how the others would react then. Would they be afraid of her? Would Scott want anything to do with her? Would they be able to make it go away again? She'd been afraid for the last few weeks this 'Phoenix' was returning, it was the real reason she told Scott no. Jean felt it wasn't fair to promise him a future when she wasn't certain she had one.

~0~o~0~

Spyke was irritated. Jade had been busy all day, all week in fact and they had barely spoken to each other. Calypso was being intentionally stubborn about everything, both being at the mansion and about him and his wife. He couldn't help but feel that some if not most of her rejection of the X-men was in anger against him.

She reluctantly continued to stay within these walls, but any offer of friendship or kindness beyond their basic needs was rejected. Just a few minutes ago Ororo and Kitty had offered to take the children out to the gardens to let them play for a while in the fresh air. Calypso had refused, had refused to even ask their mothers if it was alright or to come with them.

Jade had tried to talk to Calypso about allowing the X-men to help them as they wanted to, but she was just as stubborn as when Spyke tried, if not more so. The argument between them had gotten so loud that Logan had come in and said. "Keep it down would ya?! The man who saved your collective asses is right below your feet trying hard not to die! Have some respect for others."

Jade said. "I'm sorry sir we didn't-"

"Don't apologize to him! We owe them nothing, we didn't ask for their help, they forced it on us. If we are in their way, we can leave."

"We aren't going anywhere, Mother, they offered their help, they aren't our enemies."

"Foolish girl, running to the first person who shows you kindness without questioning what it is they want in return."

"Not everyone is out to get you lady." Logan interrupted. "But I will be happy to let you run through the Danger room if you keep up this noise. Just shut up."

Spyke then stepped in as Logan left in an attempt to calm them all down. In the end he ended up taking a walk with both his wife and his leader angry with him as well. He knew it was only a matter of time before she decided the Morlocks were leaving. The question, Spyke realized was if he wanted to go with them, and if Jade would stay behind if he did.

~0~o~0~

"Have you seen this?" Jubilee said shaking her head in disgust as she pointed toward the television. She was one of the younger members of the team, and spent most of her time in training, not on the field, but still had more than her fair share of prejudice to deal with daily at school.

Kitty and Rogue shook their heads and joined their younger teammates on the couch as their former principle, Robert Kelly said. "SO in conclusion, if I am elected, I will ensure these creatures are kept in check so that you and your children will be safe. Thank you, good evening."

"Creatures?!" Kitty said as she glared at the screen, already guessing who he was talking about. She had spent all off last year singled out on Kelly's command as had her fellow mutants. "What does he think he's playing at? We're people just like everyone else!"

"He was using the footage of the Battle to 'prove' we're dangerous." Jubilee said shaking her head. "I'm going to go make sure the teachers saw this."

As she left the room the reporter returned to the screen to recap the announcement of Kelly's bid for senate and Rogue watched with resignation while Kitty paced back and forth so quickly that her ponytail bounced back and forth while she ranted about Kelly's bigotry. The other kids were glaring at the scene, talking loudly to each other, or in Jamie's case sitting numbly looking at nothing.

Amara and Sam sat on the love seat together, while Roberto, Bobby and Rhane sat on the second couch, and Jamie sat on the floor. They had been watching a movie together when the news came on.

Jubilee returned a few minutes later with Ororo, Charles, Calypso, Piotr, Scott, and Logan. Logan placed a reassuring hand briefly on Kitty's tiny shoulder before they turned their attention to the tv.

"After they watched what happened last summer, that many people won't agree with him right?" Jubilee said, frowning. "I mean most people saw you saved the day, not were causing trouble like he's saying?"

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple Jubilation. They are seeing it both sides. Yes, mutants saved the day, as you said, but it was also mutants they were fighting." Ororo said.

"So that's it then?" The young Asian girl replied. "It doesn't matter to them what good we can do because a few bad ones can do what they did?"

"Sadly, that is the case in some minds." Charles said. "However, that is why we are here. That is why all of you are here, to change their minds. I believe we can create a world where humans and mutants can live together in peace, neither having to hide what they are. We will help them see the good in all of us."

Calypso snorted before she said. "Topsiders will never accept us. That is why we do not belong here. Thank you, for helping us Xavier, but my people need to be where it is safe, and the surface isn't that place. I will begin preparing my people to leave."

"Wherever will you go?" Ororo asked.

"Not to where we were, no that place is no longer safe. Somewhere new, and unknown to anyone, even you Storm. It is the only way."

Let's please wait at least until we know you are no longer hunted, we still have no idea who was after you to begin with an-" Ororo began, but was interrupted by Kurt appearing in a cloud of smoke.

"Dr. McCoy sent me" he said in an excited tone. "To say he's waking up."

Rogue and Piotr were out of the room before Kurt finished talking, with the three adults on their heels. Kurt collapsed into the nearest chair and asked what was going on. Jubilee quickly filled him in as Kitty decided to follow the others.

~0~o~0~

Gambit first became aware of the steady beeping of the monitors, and the heavy smell of antiseptic. For a moment he was certain that he had been recaptured, the bright lights were making their way through his closed lids and as he shifted slightly he felt the pain radiating throughout his body.

Then he heard the soft murmurs of others in the room with him, and realized he must be elsewhere. He took mental stock of what he remembered, and hoped the X-men were nearby, because he didn't think he could make it out of a crowded hospital in his current condition when they saw his eyes.

He cracked one eye carefully as he tried to look around without being noticed, and the first thing he saw was a white paneled ceiling. Before he could shift his head slightly, a blue furry face appeared near his own, the smell of aftershave nearly overwhelming. He forced himself not to react as he wondered why Beast would use aftershave.

"Is he okay?" came a female voice from just of of his sight and he realized it was Rogue.

"As I had Mr. Drake tell you, he is waking up. How much he will remember and how confused he will be will depend heavily on how much damage was done." Beast said as he pulled Remy's eye open to shine a light into it.

"Owe, stop that." Remy croaked as he turned his head.

"Remy." said Piotr, appearing next to him. "It is good to see you awake."

"Wish it was good to be awake Pete. What happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us. Jean and Scott found you passed out right outside our gate." Rogue said, not unkindly.

"Had to warn you. Going to attack those people in the sewers. Have to stop them." Remy replied.

"It's okay. You already did, we got them out, they're safe and sound. "Rogue said in what she hoped was a comforting tone.

"No. I mean I know. I remember. They realized someone had warned them." Remy continued. "They realized it was me. I tried to escape, but they caught me."

"Where'd they keep ya kid?" Logan asked, intent on shutting the place down.

"I'll draw ya a map, it won't matter none though, they were packing up shop that's how I slipped away." Remy said, wishing for a drink of water.

As if she'd heard him, Rogue offered him a straw, holding the cup for him to sip. He smiled gratefully at her and she shrugged. "I remember being really thirsty when I woke from my coma and I wasn't asleep nearly as long, or hurt as bad either."

"Coma? How long?!" Remy said, as he tried to sit up. Hank obliged him and raised the bed.

"Two weeks." Charles said from his corner. "Do you feel up to talking with me Gambit?"

"Merde! I may be too late! Kelly, he's going to run for office he-"

"He announced it just a few minutes ago." said Rogue. "How did you know?"

"Essex...Sinister, he's Kelly campaign backer. On'y Kelly don' know Sinister's a mutant, and he plans to ...I'm not sure, I don't remember."

"Okay everyone, let's clear the room. Gambit here needs his rest to recover." said Hank, as he started shooing people toward the door. Gambit had not yet let go of Rogue's hand which he had grabbed as he sat up, and Charles remained silent in the corner. Everyone else left, including Hank who had given Charles a mental warning about pushing the patient to hard.

"It's okay, you'll remember. The important thing is to get you better." Rogue said, as he gripped her hand harder, making her fingers go numb. The rough material of her glove doing little to buffer the trembling of his own hand.

"How did you come by the information about the Morlocks Gambit?" Charles said.

"I was on my way here, after I called you, when all of a sudden, out of nowhere I lost control. My whole bike was shining like a Christmas star and I couldn't pull it in. I pulled over to the nearest rest stop and ran for it, but I was swept up in the blast." Remy began, ignoring the look of horror on Rogue's face at the idea of such a blast." When I came to, Essex was there with me. He said I was lucky and that no one had been hurt, but that I was outta control. He offered to help me,. I thought of here, of all the kids that would have been hurt or worse if that happened here, or while I was out somewhere and I agreed."

"You could have still come." Rogue said with a smile. Trying to let him know he was welcome, but that she wasn't criticizing him. She'd spent two weeks thinking about this and she fully intended to try and be his friend. She hoped he would stay here where it was safe if he had friends here.

"I didn't want to hurt anyone, Cherie." Remy said before returning his attention to Charles. " He did...he did several surgeries to fix me. He's a sadist, no medication at all, ever. But I regained control. Then he said that we needed to talk price. I was willing to pay him whatever he wanted in cash, but what he wanted was for me to work for him and to kill all those people. I agreed to his terms and he gave me the file, which I made a copy of and gave to Rogue so that you could get to them, then they found me and brought me back because I was a prisoner and not allowed to leave. They realized right away what I had done when the tunnels were empty, and it took me a long time to find another way out. He kept doing things like breaking my bones and injecting me with sleeping medications to keep me in check."

"And then Kelly was involved somehow?" Charles prompted.

"Noo. I mean yes they are working together, but no not over this stuff. I'm positive of that but I can not remember..."

"It's alright, son. Get some rest, we will talk again when you feel up to it. Meanwhile, you are still welcome here as long as you want." Charles said as he wheeled out of the room.

Remy was shocked they were still inviting him after he worked for Magneto and now Sinister, however he pushed aside his concerns when Rogue smiled brightly with a 'Welcome to the X-men."


	5. Chapter 5

**What is to Come**

Chapter Five

Aside from Xavier, the only person Remy could count on finding on any given day inside the mansion was Rogue. Hank was usually somewhere in the lab, but after being released Remy had steadfastly refused to anywhere near it.

Ororo had gone with her nephew and his new family to settle them into their new home, Charles had offered Calypso a comprise in another campus he owned further away from people at least until they knew this Sinister was no longer a threat, though he had hoped they would stay even after that.

Logan had taken off in search of Sinister and they hadn't seen him for the last month, not since the morning after Remy woke up. He had called Charles a few times with updates, but he didn't intend to return until he had found something.

Jean, Scott, Kitty (who had graduated with Rogue last week from the home program) and Piotr were rarely home, one couple busy planning their wedding and the other busy avoiding each other.

Being the only two people in the house most of the time that were actually interacting, it made sense that they were becoming friends. Rogue had sworn to herself she would make him feel welcome as they had her when she arrived. Since then her sense of obligation had morphed into friendship. The connection she had felt in New Orleans turned out not to be nearly as false as she had feared when he betrayed her all those months ago, when he tried to use her to find his adoptive father.

They were sitting in the TV room playing a game of Cribbage when Logan came in. It was the easiest game for them to play with Remy's left arm still in it's cast. He could shuffle with one hand, which he had been quick to point out, whereas any video game or pool would require both hands,pool also required the ability to stand, though Rogue had tactfully avoided mentioning this as much as possible. Rogue had agreed to play then as long as it wasn't poker.

"What are you two up to?" Logan asked as he sat down at the table.

"Cards. Did you find anything?" Rogue asked as Remy dealt the next round.

"Yeah. I found where they went, but they were already gone again. Twice." Logan said. "Gonna have to let them think we let it go, before trying again."

Remy grunted, but made no comment. Logan turned to him long enough to ask how he was healing. Remy shrugged in reply and held up his cast. "As well as you'd expect."

"Don't listen to him Logan, he's playing it up to avoid getting his butt kicked at pool." Rogue said.

"Anytime Cher." Remy said while successfully hiding the pain he'd caused himself from shrugging with his broken ribs. Not that Rogue or Logan were at all fooled by his deception. Rogue knew him well enough by now to notice that he'd paled and Logan could smell the adrenalin that raised in Remy's bloodstream as his body attempted to counteract the pain.

"Sure Swamprat, and when I win, you'll blame the arm. We'll wait till it heals."

" I'll beat you with one arm and my eyes closed, then -"

"Then what? I'll owe you a drink?" Rogue said as she laid down her first card, with a raised eyebrow in his direction.

"Dinner. We agreed on dinner." Remy tutted at her as he put down a card in turn, while trying not to fully extend his arm and add further strain to his ribs.

"No if I win we go to dinner." Rogue argued, while she moved his card closer but otherwise ignored his pain. Logan found this a little odd, but decided to mention it to Hank, rather than interrupt. Clearly the boy was in need of pain medication of some form. As far as Logan could smell, there was nothing in his system.

"Either way you win." Remy said with a smirk. Logan rolled his eyes and rose to leave, before they returned their attention to him.

"What's the plan now though?" Rogue said.

"I told ya kid, wait and let it cool down." Logan said, already thinking of where Hank might be at this hour, either the library or his lab were good options.

"Longer you wait, bigger hold he's got on Kelly." Remy said.

"What?" Logan said.

"He's got Kelly in his pocket. Doubt the man knows who he's in business with, but still thick as thieves." Remy said dryly as Rogue tallied the points and began to shuffle.

"How do you know this?" Logan said returning to his, his attention fully returned to the younger man.

"Like I tol' Xavier, I heard them together, several times while I was on the table. Didn't know I could hear anything at all I expect, but there you go."

"He's been over and over this Logan, give him a break."

"When'd you two become buddies anyway?" Logan grunted, watching the pair with new interest.

"When I realized she was the only intelligent conversation in the house and she realized she was in love with my handsomeness." Remy replied with a smirk.

"Keep dreaming Swamprat. I put up with ya, that's all."

"See the abuse I go through? All because she's in denial."

"You need your ego deflated, I'm sure Logan will take care of that for ya."

Logan left the room, assuming (correctly) that this was a common conversation for them and it was not going to result in blood shed or doe-eyes. He wasn't sure which would be worse.

~0~o~0~

John was known as Pryo or Saint John had come to the United States offically on a student visa and unofficially to work for Magneto. He free-lanced as much or as little as he wanted, as a mercenary, and more so as a writer of both novels and magazine articles. John freely admitted that he was a lot of things, crazy was high up that list, along with impulsive and (at times) irrational but stupid was no where on it. The man thought he was being clever, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, as if John wouldn't recognize him dressed like that. He knew this was Robert Kelly, and he knew if the man wanted to meet with him private it was going to include one of two things. It was either a trap or an offer of an extremely large amount of money...though he supposed it could be both.

In anticipation of a trap, John had informed a couple of his friends where he was going, as well as bringing several bic lighters along. He wouldn't bring a good lighter, in case he was captured, but he wouldn't go unarmed. After all his ability to control fire wasn't limited to expensive equipment. It was however limited in that he could control fire but not create it. He also found comfort in flicking a lighter whenever he was on edge as he was right now. Everything about this meeting felt wrong.

Kelly approached him, seemingly alone, and John remained stone-faced, as he slipped his lighter back into his pocket and remained seated on the bench. His brightly colored hair, which he preferred to dye to resemble his beloved flames, was covered by a hat of his own. Though he loved to make a statement, this was not the kind of meeting that you wanted people to remember seeing you. Kelly would have been better to remember that himself, since his own large brimmed hat and trench coat stood out in the sun filled warm afternoon.

"Hello, Mr Allerdyce." Kelly began as he sat next to John on the bench.

"Ain't really the best idea to be announcing each others names here, now is it Mr. Kelly?" John said with a huff and retrieving his lighter from his pocket. "Best just get on with it."

Kelly eyed the younger mutant with apprehension before nodding as he pulled an envelope from his briefcase and cleared his throat nervously. For him this was the worst possible kind of meeting, sitting so close to a mutant. Especially one with such destructive powers, despite that was exactly why he wanted to talk to John.

Kelly finished explaining what he wanted fairly quickly, and John nodded in understanding before Kelly offered him a thick envelope full of cash. "I said I understood what you wanted,Mate, never agreed to do it or on a price."

"Consider it a down payment, on your silence if nothing else." Kelly said before walking away.

John shook his head before stuffing the envelope in his pocket of his baggy jacket and smiled at the mom pushing the stroller toward the playground. Really meeting in a crowded park was not the best place to do business. It was a good thing he had no intention of taking this job. He had better things to do than start trouble for some scummy human politician.

~0~o~0~

Jean had searched everywhere for Scott but he seemed to have left not just the mansion, but Bayville as well. She knew he wouldn't go anywhere without telling the Professor so he had to be here somewhere, it was a matter of where.

She saw Kitty and Piotr coming out of the bakery across the street from the coffee shop she had just left, and looking at the deserted street rushed across to talk to them. Piotr was carrying a white box,presumably from that bakery and Kitty was searching through her purse, withdrawing a small notebook as Jean arrived next to them.

Kitty's light brown hair was blowing in her face at the slight breeze, the smaller girl normally kept her hair in a ponytail but had taken to wearing it down recently. Jean suspected Piotr had said something about liking that way but hadn't asked. Jean didn't know Piotr very well, having barely spoken to him since his arrival at the mansion. She had been far to busy avoiding Scott and attending university classes the last few weeks to really notice that they were still virtual strangers.

"Hi Kitty. Piotr. Have you seen Scott around?"

"Hi Jean, not since breakfast. Wasn't he at the mechanics?" Kitty responded, without looking up from her notebook.

"Why would he be there?" Jean asked with a frown.

"Because he said at breakfast 'I got to go get that whine checked today at Carl's', weren't you listening?" Kitty said, finally looking at the other girl.

"Thanks Kitty, bye Piotr."

Jean walked away briskly with Kitty staring after her. "Okay, she's totally crazy. Everyone heard him!"

"I don't think she was listening to him this morning, she was staring out at that statue on the lawn." Piotr replied, and Kitty shrugged as she finished checking the list in her notebook.

"Not our problem I guess, they'll work it out, they always do. On to the florist."

Kitty and Piotr headed in the opposite direction to talk to the florist, while Jean resumed her search for her boyfriend.

Carl's Garage was not far from the bakery. The only reason Jean hadn't checked there, aside from disliking the place, was Scott preferred to service his own car and generally didn't go to the mechanic.

Jean walked in and spotted Scott's car right away. She then looked around the noisy garage in search of it's owner. Scott was standing next to the mechanic, deep in conversation, and didn't notice Jean right away. As she approached she realized he wasn't talking about cars...he was talking about her. Jean quickly turned around, tears in her eyes and started to leave the garage. Unfortunately for her, the mechanic had seen her and called after her. Scott recognized her bright red hair and followed her out.

"It's not bad enough that you've been ignoring me for weeks? You got to go around telling people that I'm a bitch too?!" Jean said when Scott grabbed her arm.

"I never called you that! I never would! Jean I just-" Scott said as he stepped back slightly and released her arm.

"No, I'm sick of all of it. I'm tired of getting glared at all day, I'm tired of you getting to say I'm so terrible, I'm tired of you never talking to me." Jean said, furiously wiping at the tears on her cheek. None of this was going remotely the way she'd hoped.

"And I'm tired of your perfect princess victim act! You turned me down then turn around and act like I did something terrible to you! Guess what Jean, girls don't hold the market on needing to complain about being mistreated." said Scott, finally letting out what he had been holding in for weeks. "Do you know why I won't talk to you? It has nothing to do with you turning me down, and everything to do with how much you HATED me for even asking you."

"Stop it Scott. I've been trying for days to apologize! I came looking for you today to say...I came looking for you to tell you to ask me again." Jean said, no longer bothering to wipe away the tears, hugging herself.

"Why?" Scott said, trying to calm himself once more. He hated to hurt her even now with as much as she'd hurt him.

"Because I panicked. Because I love you and want to marry you." Jean said, as she tried to hug him though he stepped away at her attempt.

"Why now? Why not weeks ago?"

"I-"

"Did it ever occur to you that after all this, I don't want to marry you anymore? That maybe I think you're right and you need more time to grow up? Has it occurred to you I haven't so much as asked you to grab a burger with me since your tirade?" Scott said, beginning to lose his temper despite his best efforts.

"I-"

"Why now Jean? Just decided you were bored and so you could just play with my head and change your mind after all that?Thought I was so weak I'd just come crawling back? Thought that-"

"I'm pregnant Scott."

"…" He froze in place, staring blankly at her.

"Say something please." Jean said, once more reaching out for him, this time to rest a hand on his arm, as if she was afraid he would simply walk away from her. In that moment she really was afraid he would.

"When'd you find out?"

"Last week." She said in an almost whisper.

"Okay. Marry me Jean." Scott said, calm once more and still clearly shocked by the revalation.

"Yes."

"Good. When the car's finished we'll go over to the courthouse and pick up the paperwork."

Jean watched as hewalk back into the shop and wondered if she would ever be able to fix their relationship, or if he even wanted to try. He was right too, if she hadn't found out she was pregnant...she wouldn't have changed her mind, not now at least. She didn't really want this, she didn't want to hurt him anymore either. She just wanted to go back to the way things were.

~0~o~0~

Ororo brushed a stray lock of white hair off her forehead as she stood from setting down the last box. Calypso stood beside her, looking around the large room. The home Xavier had provided was another mansion, further upstate, in a remote location. It was not in as good of a condition as the one that housed the X-men as it had been left unoccupied for several years, but it was still far nicer than Calypso was used to. It was not in disrepair by any means, but unlike the mansion that housed the X-men this one could do with renovations and upgrades. It had been built over two centuries ago, and last updated nearly thirty years ago, when Xavier had still been in his teens before he lost his mother.

There were dust covers over all of the furniture in the front parlor, formal dining room, living room, den, back parlor, library, the smaller dining room, office, and all of the fourteen bedrooms on the second floor, the rooms were decorated in dark woods, with the draperies drawn making the place seem far darker than it could be.

The unused and dark feeling of the place actually helped Calypso and several of the others feel more comfortable, and several of the younger ones, like Spyke and Jade were happy to have the compromise. The conditions were suitable, and comfortable to everyone there.

"The lights are on, we just need to hit the breaker. I suggest letting the water run through the pipes for a few minutes to clear them out. The heat is already set to low, but adjust it as you need it." Ororo said, as she went through the checklist Charles had given her. "Charles said to feel free to use any and all of the rooms you need, there is nothing of personal value in the house to worry about breaking. He suspended the monthly cleaning service for your comfort as he felt you would not want strangers coming in and out."

"Thank you Auntie." Spyke said, since Calypso seemed preoccupied.

"The cupboards have been recently stocked, linens washed, and everything is in working order. Charles instructed me to tell you that he hopes you are comfortable here and to consider this your home as long as you need it. None of us will bother you up here, nor will he tell anyone else who is here. Please stay."

"Yes, we will stay...for now. "Calypso replied. "Now if you excuse me, I must get people settled in."

Calypso left the room and Ororo turned to her nephew. "I want you to promise me Evan. If you need anything here, if any of you need anything, you'll let me know."

"Of course Auntie, but please, it's just Spyke now."

"You can call yourself whatever you want, but as I've said to you a dozen times, you'll always be Evan. I am Storm, but I am not only Storm. You don't have to forget your family to accept who you are. I'm just sorry you don't see that."

Whatever reply she may have received from this comment was lost when Jade suddenly joined them and asked if they would like to help her in cleaning and unpacking the kitchen. Ororo was determined to speak to him again before she left though. She had no problem with his creating a new family, she just feared him walking completely away from his old one.


	6. Chapter 6

**What is to Come**

Chapter Six

Logan finally tracked Hank down, surprisingly in neither the library or the lab but in the Danger room. After announcing his presence in the observation booth, Logan watched Beast finish his session before he joined Logan in a cup of coffee in his office off the lab.

Hank, like Remy and Rogue was anxious to hear any new developments in the hunt for Sinister, though he hid his disappointment well when Logan told him that the trail was gone. It was Hank's hope that they may be able to get a hold of Sinister's records (assuming he kept records) to better understand what had been done to Remy and therefore better treat the young man.

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about Hank." Logan said after Hank voiced this hope. "I noticed the boy doesn't seem to be on any pain killers, and he's clearly in a great deal of pain. In fact I'm not sure he should even be upstairs yet."

"I agree my friend. LeBeau should still be down here in the medlad. He only recently woke from a coma. He's suffering from a severe tibia fracture left side, humerus fracture of the left arm, severe rib fracturing in the upper and middle ribs, a moderate ethmoid,lacrimal,frontal squama and pareital fracture-"

"Hank, English." Logan said with a growl.

"I apologize. Remy's left shin bone, upper left arm, and ribs are broken. As well as his right eye socket and the right back side of his head as well as his forehead. He also suffered severe internal bleeding as you know,however seems to have recovered well from the blood loss. He appears to have no long term brain injury from the event however he will need time and physical therapy and possibly another surgery to heal his limbs and head. " Hank said, remembering to simplify the conversation. "He should be down here recovering peacefully in a bed, however the best compromise I could manage once he was no longer unconscious was that he must remain in the wheelchair and come down here daily. He shouldn't attempt crutches until his arm and ribs heal."

"That doesn't explain why he is without pain killers Hank." Logan said internally wincing at the amount of damage the boy still suffered.

"His mutation is the issue there I'm afraid Logan. He burns through the pain medication at an alarming rate with very little to show for it. He takes pain killers at night, but they wear off rather quickly." Rogue said from behind them. "C'mon you know Mr. McCoy wouldn't let him suffer he he could help it. Also, Remy's next door Hank. He's ready for his check up, but you know him don't keep him waiting or he'll be gone before you get there."

Hank excused himself and left in search of his patient as Rogue sat next to Logan. "He's still in really bad shape, not that he'd admit it. Not just his bones either. Logan he's afraid to even go out into the garden right now because he can't defend himself at the moment, and he has nightmares almost as bad as yours nearly every night. I think the only way we might be able to help him is to finally catch up with this Sinister so Remy isn't jumping at shadows."

" Ou know it don't work that way kid. Even if we brought Gam- Remy Sinister in a bodybag, the nightmares aren't going away for awhile. If they ever do. I'm sorry Stripes, but this is one of those things that he's just going to have to work through."

"I know. I just hate seeing him suffer so much. He wouldn't be if he had remained silent. He stuck his neck out to save a bunch of people he didn't know and it ended badly for him. The worst part, is he'd do it all over again. Which is how I know he belongs here Logan. He's an X-man. He just don't know it yet."

Logan chuckled after impassioned speech, which he happened to agree with, before saying. "I know kid. So does he, when he ain't being stubborn."

~0~o~0~

Scott had called the mansion while he waited for his car, and told them not what was going on, but that he and Jean would be gone for a couple of days. He intended if he couldn't give her the wedding he wanted to the least he could do was take her on a vacation. He wanted to call it a honeymoon, after everything he did really love her and wanted the best life possible for her and this child. He wasn't sure how she was going to react to his plan of a trip though. They could (he hoped) start to make some progress on this trip alone together, before they were legally married, since the paperwork said they had to wait three days from filing to marry.

Afterward, he collected the car and they were on their way. Kitty spotted them and waived on her way out of the florist, happy to see them together again and not fighting. Piotr followed her a moment later and she told him just hoped it meant the couple's troubles were behind them. Piotr agreed with her, but also reminded her as he had several times already, not to attempt to interfere. She and Jubilee had been caught plotting by him a couple of weeks ago, trying to think of ways to force the couple to talk to each other.

Whatever response Kitty was going to make was interrupted by the bakery down the street exploding. Kitty took off in that direction but only made it a couple of feet before the florist behind them also exploded. To shield her from the blast Piotr switched to his tall steel form. The impact of the blast still blew him forward however, and into her. She quickly turned intangible and 'phased' them both as flying debris rained down on them.

"It was them! Those Muties are blowing up the street!" Yelled a man a few feet away from them, as he pointed at them and then the shop behind them.

A crowd was now gathering, a few concerned faces were mixed into the fearful ones, and here and there within the crowd a chant had begun. "Stop the Muties, Stop the Muties."

Kitty realized they weren't going to be able to reason with anyone here and grabbing a hold of Piotr, she ran literally through the crowd, passing through the men and women between them and freedom. They reached the car and she turned her powers off long enough to climb in, before concentrating hard and 'phasing' the entire car just as the crowd started throwing bricks from the ruins.

Piotr drove at top speed while she concentrated, until they were several blocks away from the crowd. He then pulled over long enough to ask her if she had been injured. She told him to just keep driving and she pulled out her phone to call the mansion. They were going to need to know about this.

~0~o~0~

By the time they arrived at the mansion ten minutes later everyone else was assembled in the TV room watching the news, the adults and older teens with grim looks on their faces, the younger ones a mixture of shock and fear. On the screen was the footage of the explosions downtown with a voice over seemingly accusing two unnamed mutants for the event.

Hank was quick to ask them if either of them was injured, but when they shook their heads he was divided between insisting they let him look them over just in case and continuing to watch the footage. Charles decided it by insisting the couple visit the medlab.

Charles didn't think they should watch the footage, both seemed to be in shock. He wasn't happy that the younger students were watching either. He feared they were being exposed to to much for their ages.

"Who would have done something like this Professor? Was it a mutant like they're saying?" Amara said.

"We don't know Amara. Now is not the time for panic children. If we remain calm in this situation, and maintain our innocence- "

"It was a set up." Remy said from his spot next to Rogue on the love seat as he looked at his phone.

"What ain't you telling us kid? You involved somehow?" Logan growled at his calm tone more than anything else.

" No. Johnny Boy jus' text me. He said. ' It was a set up, I have proof, get those _ that you live with not to shoot on sight and I'll bring it to you' He sent it to Pete too."

" As he comes in peace he's welcome." Charles replied.

Remy sent the reply to John while Rogue continued to glare at Logan for jumping to he enemy idea. She hated when he did that. He did it to Lance, he did it to Piotr. She was unsure though grateful, of why he never really did it to her.

She was still brooding about it a minute later when Charles turned off the television. " That's enough. I suggest everyone go do their homework, you do have school tomorrow."

The kids all filed out of the room, leaving Remy, Rogue, and Kurt (who had already finished his homework) with Charles and Logan, though they were soon joined by Hank, Piotr and Kitty.

"You aren't seriously considering making them go to school tomorrow after that news are you sir?" Rogue asked.

" Yes Rogue, I am. If we hide from our problems they will assume we are guilty."

"They already do! All that's going to happen tomorrow is they'll be attacked for this." Rogue said angrily.

"You can't possibly know that Rogue."

"Yeah I can, because we've been through this. Your first group. When the truth came out about mutants we were sent back to school and we were attacked just for being different, then when Apocalypse happened we were attacked for saving them all. How do you really think this will go?"

"I understand your fear Rogue, however-"

"Do you really Professor? You get to sit here behind your doors and gates and send a group of children out into the world to prove your point. There are enough of us graduates and adults now to officially change this over to a private school. Isn't that what you said you wanted to do when you asked us to stay?" Kitty said.

"That takes time and proper paperwork Kitty, and the extra wings will not be finished until next week at the earliest."

"You're making excuses, sir. Let them stay home tomorrow. Please. We've been there, we know what's going to happen." Rogue said.

"...I'll think about it. Remy. Piotr, have you heard back from your friend yet?"

"He'll be here in a few minutes." Remy said. He and Piotr had agreed with the girls, as had Logan but they had stayed out of the argument for the younger two because they didn't feel it was their place to weigh in and for Logan because he intended to talk with Charles privately later to tell him they were right.

They sat in silence, each contemplating what proof John could have as they waited for him until he rang the buzzer at the gate twenty minutes later. Piotr stood to meet him, and lead him back up to the mansion, they returned a few minutes later and John froze in the doorway blinking briefing at what he considered to be a crowd in the TV room.

He recognized them all from battle, except for the older balding man in the wheel chair. The man was sitting next to an armchair which was occupied by the Ever grouchy wild haired Wolverine. Wolverine was wearing a t-shirt and faded jeans instead of his usual battle uniform, though John supposed that this was actually his usual clothing. Still it was strange to see him without it. Next to Wolverine on the couch sat the blue furred Nightcrawler, again wearing a t-shirt and jeans, and the younger man had a frown he couldn't tell if it was directed at him or something else. Next to Nightcrawler was the girl...Shadowcat, not only was she also missing her uniform in favor of a yellow sundress and white cardigan but she also lacked a ponytail. He almost asked who the new girl was when he glanced at her the first time with her change of style. The next cushion was empty, but then on the love seat was Rogue wearing a purple long sleeved sweater and dark jeans, her makeup the same as always, dark and thick, and her brown hair with it's white stripe unchanging from the shoulder length loose style he'd seen every time they had fought.

Sitting next to Rogue on the love seat was his friend and former teammate, Gambit. He was also dressed casually in a t-shirt and jeans. His face was covered in yellowish nearly faded bruises, his left arm was in a cast, there was a wheelchair sitting next to him which John realized right away was his since his left leg was also in a cast. His hair had grown some since John had last seen him and now the brown locks brushed his shoulders. Piotr gestured to the second empty wing chair and sat down himself next to Shadowcat.

John finally moved from the doorway accepting the chair offer by Piotr, and turned once more to Gambit. " I knew you said you'd run into a spot of trouble, but man, that's not a spot of trouble. You look like you went ten rounds with Sabretooth...while wearing a suit made of bacon."

"I'm blushing here, you haven't even seen the half of it. You should see Ol' Hank's handiwork, nice and steady with a needle that one." Remy said in an amused tone, though his eyes flashed in that usual stop asking now way John had seen before.

"Right, well to business then shall we? Okay I've gotta tell you the story first." John said, as he looked around the room. He wanted them to understand and believe him. He was pretty sure their lives might depend on it. " I was contacted a few days ago, them saying I was wanted for a job. Now I may be a lot of things, but I ain't stupid. Can't say the same for the ones making contact. Anyway, so I tell a couple people where I'm headed and why then I go to meet this mystery man. He turned out to be that Kelly guy from the tv, the one wantin in the government. He tried to disguise himself, which just made him more memorable."

"You're not going to start rattling on and forget the point are you Johnny?" Remy said, he was used to talking to John and was attempting to keep him on subject. He really needed a nap and to get off his leg for awhile.

John who had been about to explain the foolishness of wearing off season coat on sunny days in crowded parks said. " Right, so anyway. This Kelly comes up to me and he says. 'I want to hire you to start trouble, and I want you to use your powers to do it.' I thought to myself that it was strange the man would want that being anti-mutant and all. After all I ain't fool enough to go to a meeting with someone if I didn't run a check on them, so anyway I am staying on subject Remy, anyway so I tell him I'm not saying yes or no just gotta think about it, and he gives me this big wad of money not to say anything. So I go home and I talked it over with my mates and girl and we agreed we really needed to know what he was up to. So I wait a couple hours and call him up. I told him I was leaning toward taking the job since I do love to get paid for burning stuff and we meet again, only this time I make sure to turn on the recorder on my phone so that I could prove he's up to something in case, y'know?"

"You were paying attention when we talked about covering your bases. I'm impressed." Remy said. "So you have this recording with you?"

"Yup, I even made you a copy." Said John producing a memory stick from his pocket. "He didn't say too much, just that he wanted to prove my kind was dangerous so he wanted me to burn down the florist,bakery, arcade, and bookstore downtown. I refused based on his 'my kind' comment so he wouldn't suspect that I'd already figured him out and was setting him up and left in a huff. Next thing I know it happens anyway, so he must've found someone else."

Logan took the memory stick from John and left the room to find Hank who would be the one to analyze it. Kitty, paler than she had been to begin with excused herself and left to go to bed though it was not yet late. Piotr smiled as he apologized for being rude then followed Kitty. John nodded and then turned to Remy about to ask what had happened to him.

"They were at the florists when it went up. They'd just stepped out of the door." Remy said.

"Who?" John said.

"Pete and Kitty."

"Why were they at the florists?" John said searching for a response to this information, but sickened at how close a friend had been to being injured or killed by something he had known about.

"Ask him yourself." Remy said.

"They're getting married." Rogue said with a glare at Remy.

Charles interrupted then to offer to have John stay, either the night or permanently, but John turned down both offers insisting he was perfectly safe going home. Charles then told him as long as he came peacefully he and any of the other Brotherhood members were always welcome to visit. John thanked him, kind of surprised Charles knew that he had been staying with the Brotherhood and took his leave before anything else could come up. He had wanted to let them know what he knew but he didn't want to be a hero. If Pete and Remy did more power to them, but it wasn't for him.


	7. Chapter 7

**What is to Come**

Chapter Seven

He woke near dawn with a strange burning sensation under his cast. At first Remy frowned as he lay there, wondering why it felt like that since it wasn't exactly a pain but it wasn't comfortable either.

He tried to remember if he had taken the pain pills Hank had given him before he had gone to bed just before midnight. With his metabolism they didn't last long so he tried to time it to give himself as much pain free sleep as possible. This wasn't pain though, it was something else. In fact the bones actually didn't ache at all anymore which was strange. Hank had just told him last night that it would be months until he was completely recovered.

He finally opened his eyes giving up on going back to sleep and yelled in fright. The bedroom, which thanks to thick drapes had been pitch black when he went to sleep, was alight in a magenta glow. Every detail from his slightly open closet door to the notebook on his desk were visible though awash in an eerie light. After a moment he realized that the flickering quality of the light meant that it was a reflection. This relieved him slightly since he was worried he had somehow managed to charge the entire room which had never happened to him before. He then realized that something was indeed charging however.

Dreading what he knew he was going to see, Remy finally looked down at his own body. As he suspected the casts, both on his arm and his leg, were fully charged. The one one his arm had gotten to the point that it was beginning to destabilize even with it still touching his body. He gulped and concentrated hard, trying to pull the charge back into his body. He was somewhat successful, the cast on his arm no longer threatening to blow up any moment, but still highly charged.

This was his great fear, realized. Not harming himself, he somehow knew that even if he lost control he would live at this point, but harming others. He'd been charging things long enough to know, they were facing a huge explosion here. It would take out at least this floor, and there were six other people on this floor.

" _I never should have stayed, I knew there was a good chance HE hadn't really fixed me."_ Remy thought. He couldn't even warn the others, according to Xavier and Magneto he was unreadable.

As Remy really began to despair, and wonder if he threw himself from the balcony the others would be spared, his door flew open so hard the hinges broke. Logan rushed into the room.

"What's going on kid?" Logan said, already guessing by the expression on Remy's face.

"I woke up glowing, I can't stop Logan. You gotta get everyone to leave."

"Hank's already on it. Luckily for you I was outside when I saw the glow through the crack in the drapes."

"You gotta get out of here Logan."

"Not a chance. How long after these leave your skin until they blow?"

"Maybe thirty seconds. Use to be able to do longer, but don't think I can hold it back."

"Okay."

Before Remy could ask what he was doing, Logan had thrown back the drapes, pushed open the balcony doors and was cutting the cast off of his arm with his claws. He turned and threw it as hard as he could out of the doors, and it exploded above the fountain, leaving a crater where it once was. Bracing himself, Remy watched while Logan repeated the process on his leg, the second cast exploding right where the first one had.

"Well, at least we won't have to replant all of Ro's garden, just that patch over there." Logan said as he looked out of the window.

"I'm sorry. I tried..."

"It's okay kid. We're used to slips around here. You were lucky enough to miss the Great Freeze by about two weeks. I had frost bite like you wouldn't believe."

"I shouldn't be here, I'm a danger to everyone in the building."

"Everyone here is dangerous. It's a matter of learning not to be. But you go out there again? He'll catch up with you and next time he won't give you a choice in what you do." Logan said. "Trust me kid, the one thing worse than being out of control is someone else being in control of you."

Before Remy could respond, Charles, Hank, Scott, and Rogue entered the room. Rogue yelling loudly that she was coming in and they could just deal with it. Remy started to sit up as they all walked in but froze when Hank yelled for him to stay still.

"I apologize for startling you, we need to get new casts on those limbs before we have to start all over on the healing process, meanwhile do not move. I'll have Poitr fetch a stretcher." Hank said as he walked over to the bed.

"Don' think that's a good idea doc. Maybe best to leave it as is and let it heal as it will." Remy said thinking of the explosion that had just happened.

"My dear boy, I thought you enjoyed those acrobatics of yours? If it doesn't heal properly you could be left with a permanent limp."

"And if I blow it up again, I could be left without a leg at all!"

Rogue came over to the bed, and looked over the situation before declaring that Remy was being a big baby and he should just let the doctor help him. As she hoped this was taken as a challenge by Remy who agreed to go down to the lab as long as Hank agreed to do another X-ray and tell him how long he would have to leave a cast on. He still preferred not getting one at all after what just happened. Hank and Piotr then carried him downstairs, Rogue tried to follow but was stopped by Logan who told her and everyone else they could either go back to bed or hit the danger room.

~0~o~0~

Hank stared at the X-rays for a moment, then rushed over to his files and pulled out another set, before comparing the two the whole time mumbling to himself about it being a fascinating development. Remy was annoyed over the whole thing. He hated being in the lab, and he hated being 'fascinating'. Too many times over the last few months he had heard that term, and it usually was followed by a great deal of pain. He refused to ask though about what was so interesting, because that would just speed up the process and though he just wanted to be done he wouldn't add to his own suffering...okay he added to his own suffering a lot, but he wouldn't now.

Finally, when Remy thought he was going to go insane waiting, Hank finally came over to him." You may sit up Remy. It appears my fears of you shifting bones was unfounded. In fact if I had not taken these X-rays the other day I would not believe this."

"What, is it healed up further than you thought?" Remy asked as he sat up, hopeful that there wouldn't be any pain this time after all.

"Remy, if I hadn't taken these X-rays myself I would have a hard time believing that your leg had ever been broken at all, and your arm still shows the remodeling of an old break, but not the one you appeared to me with. I dare say the break was at least ten years ago."

"Yeah, I remember it."

"I wish to take a few more X-rays, to look at your ribs and a blood sample. At the moment I'm speculating only therefore I have no answers, but I hope to have them for you by the end of the day. Until then take it easy, no practice until I give the all clear, and avoid the gym."

Remy had previously stated that he intended to celebrate the removal of the casts by spending the evening in the danger room. It had made the younger students stare at him and horror and a couple of the older one question his sanity. Scott had agreed with him, and Rogue had said nothing either direction though she was one of the few who didn't mind the work outs.

~0~o~0~

Scott and Jean had returned from their weekend away and gone quietly to city hall without much fanfare from the rest of the household. They then settled into a room in the teachers' wing between Logan and Ororo. Everything seemed to be going well with them at the moment, and Jean was comfortable with the idea of telling the others about the baby soon. She however wanted to tell her family first, which Scott agreed with, with the exception of Charles and Logan who he felt needed to know for her health and safety.

Jame didn't really agree with Scott on the matter, since they hadn't been on any missions or anything remotely dangerous in months, but to avoid starting another fight she consented to his request. Together they went to Charles and let him know about the pregnancy after everyone had calmed down following Remy's accident that morning.

Charles listened to them calmly, as always, before he said. "Congratulations. This is indeed welcome and wonderful news. I will of course inform Logan for you, and Jean will be taken off of the active roster until Hank deems her fit for the activities involved."

"Thank you Professor." Scott said with relief. "I must confess, I worried that you would be disappointed in us."

"My dear boy, this news is neither shocking nor disappointing. I've known for a while now of Jean's condition and was simply waiting for you to be ready to let us in on the matter. Logan and Ororo both know as well, I assure you that none f us are in any way disappointed in you."

"How-"

"Jean, I sensed the child a few days ago, but before that I was informed by Logan who knew shortly after you conceived. Ororo informed me a week or so after Logan. They probably knew before you did."

"So much for a big surprise." Jean said ruefully, though she was honestly as relieved as Scott that their teachers were not upset with them.

" As far as I know none of your teammates are aware Jean, there are still plenty of people in the house to surprise with your news. I apologize, I should not have mentioned who already knew."

"That's okay Professor. I kind of suspected Logan already knew. He keeps inventing reasons for me to miss Danger room sessions. Not that I'm complaining about that!"

Relieved the meeting had gone well, Jean left to go call her parents and let them know she was bringing Scott home for Christmas with her and Scott went to call his brother to let him know that he would soon be an uncle.

~0~o~0~

John "Pryo" Allerdyce had been hurt when his best friend of ten years suddenly no longer knew him, after an accidental fire in his own back yard. He had been annoyed when he was approached for job after job using his powers with the assumption he was foolish. He had been angry when his parents 'suggested' he would be better off going with Magneto to America. Now though he was livid. He was tired too. Tired of always being the crazy fall guy loser.

He had said _**No**_. He had refused the job. He had gone so far as to warn others what was happening and lay low for the last ten days. Now though, the local police were here to arrest him for the attack downtown, which had nothing to do with him. Lance, Wanda, and Pietro were standing between him and the police refusing to let them pass, while Fred, Tabitha and Todd had taken off to who-knows-where as soon as they had seen the car pull up.

The news van arrived just as Lance's eyes rolled up in his head and the earth shook beneath their feet. "So much for low profile." Pietro said before zipping faster than anyone could see behind the police and taking their guns.

Pietro returned to Wanda's side as she raised her hands to defend them when John stepped into the path, joined suddenly by a ten foot tall lion made of fire. Wanda yelled for him to stop, that he was giving them what they wanted as the news cameras filmed the scene unfold.

John ignored Wanda, instead charging the police with his fire creations as Wanda worked her magic to protect the others and Lance continued to shake the earth beneath their feet. Pietro whizzed about, attempting to keep them all disarmed and confused. They knew they couldn't keep this up long, either someone would end up hurt or John in cuffs, or both.

Lance yelled for Wanda and Pietro to do something as he shook the earth again, and Pietro grabbed a hold of John and Wanda. A second later he appeared next to Lance, the others gone and grabbed his shoulder. A newly arrived SWAT team fired at the duo as they too disappeared, Pietro moving too fast for anyone to see as he raced Lance up the mountainside he had deposited the others.

Lance and Pietro came to a stop in front of Wanda, John a few feet away still looking like he was about to explode. Pietro still gripping Lance tightly on the shoulder, bunching his vest and bruising the skin underneath. Lance turned to tell Pietro to let go, when he saw the blood blooming from a scorched hole in Pietro's uniform just below his shoulder. Wanda rushed forward as Pietro finally let go, falling face first into the dirt.

~0~o~0~

School had let out the day after Remy's accidental charging of his room, and with it most of the mansion's inhabitants would be leaving for the holiday that evening which was the only way Charles and Logan had convinced Remy that it was safe to stay at the mansion, at least for the time being.

He had been intent on leaving, especially after he'd learned of his miraculous recovery, but they had managed to convince him to stay at least for the time being, though he'd sworn if there were anymore accidents he would leave no matter what they said. He and Rogue were in the hallway saying good bye to the others when they heard Bobby call from the TV room.

Bobby stared at the television screen for all of half a minute before he rushed to the intercom and screamed. "Everyone get in here! TV room now."

Every member of the household, including the majority of students who were in coats about to leave for the winter holidays rushed into the room, as well as Logan who was driving them to the train station.

The scene that had unfolded in front of the Brotherhood House twenty minutes before was replaying on the screen, along with a message on the bottom stating that the Governor had declared a state of Emergency for Bayville at that no one was to leave their homes. The kids all yelled at this.

Xavier called everyone to order and excused himself long enough to make a few phone calls to confirm the trains were closed. The rest of the staff tried to get the students to calm down, which wasn't easy with everyone equally concerned about how they were getting home and what was happening across town.


	8. Chapter 8

**What is to Come**

Chapter Eight

Wanda didn't know what else to do, calling her father was not on her list of preferred options. She didn't know how to handle a bullet in the chest though, and one look at the other two told her they didn't either.

Magneto arrived moments after she called, in one of his metal orbs. He looked around at Lance, John, and Wanda who were all hovering over Pietro, Wanda was cradling his head in her lap while John held his hands against the wound and Lance tried not to pass out. "What happened?"

"The police came to arrest Pyro for the fire downtown. Pie was getting us out of there and one of them somehow hit him." Wanda said.

Magneto glared at them all, and with a promise that they would talk about it later scooped everyone up into his orbs and headed out. The orbs traveled faster than even the Blackbird, and with in a half an hour they were on the west coast. He told the other boys to stay with the orbs and he had Wanda help take his son to the hospital.

He carried his bleeding unconscious child into the emergency room with his daughter at his heels still covered in her brother's blood as well as debris from the trees they ran through and soot from the fires Pryo had lit.

The security guard took one look at them and with the words 'Car wreak?' escorted them through to the back before they could answer. A doctor and nurse entered the room as Magneto lowered Pietro to the bed and started asking questions. "I don't know exactly what happened. My children were with a few friends up in the mountains, I was called about an hour ago and told my son had been in a hunting accident."

"He was shot in the chest on accident, we didn't see the shooter, we and a couple other friends were hiking and the bullet came through the trees." Wanda added, as see caught a glimpse of herself reflected in the window." I ran back to camp to call my dad while the guys carried him behind me."

The doctor and nurse got to work on Pietro's wound, cutting off his t-shirt for a closer look and shooing his family from the room. Magneto hadn't wanted to go, but realized causing a scene was not going to help his son. They sat on the hard plastic chairs in the waiting area for a few minutes, before he looked over at his drained and pale daughter.

"Here. Go get the other two, rent a couple of rooms near-by. Then go pick yourselves up a change of clothes...one for me and Pietro as well." Magneto pulled out his wallet and handed Wanda his Mastercard.

"Father, I-"

"Go Wanda. Tell the others I know what happened, and I don't blame them or you for this. Thank them for helping to save your brother. Tell them I will find you when I know how he is doing, and let you all know what is going on."

Wanda nodded and left, she realized he was intentionally giving her time to get the story together with John and Lance before they were questioned, as well as conveying that he had heard them when they told him what had happened in reality and he was not angry. At least not with them.

Wanda had just left when the nurse came out to tell him that Pietro was going to need to go to surgery. He agreed to this, as another nurse came up to him with the paperwork he needed to fill out and informed him that a police office was on his way to get a statement of the accident. Magneto nodded in agreement, then followed the first nurse to the waiting room upstairs.

He stared blankly at the forms he was to fill out for several minutes after he had filled in 'Name, age,date of birth'. He couldn't remember when the last time the children had gotten shots, he didn't know the name of Pietro's primary doctor, or any of the insurance information. For years now he had simply handed the necessary cards over to his son, and before that the children's nanny. He didn't remember the last time he actually went to the doctor with his children, if he ever had. His wife used to do that before she died.

The nurse asked him if he was all right, and he told her he couldn't remember some of the information the forms were asking right now. She smiled sympathetically at him. "It isn't uncommon to forget these things, especially in a situation like this. If you fill in the insurance information and allergies list, we'll be able to take care of the rest when it becomes needed."

Magneto dug around in his wallet for the right card and filled it in with no trouble, but then he realized he couldn't remember if it was Pietro who was allergic to morphine or if it was penicillin. He knew one of the twins was allergic to one and the other twin allergic to the other. He called Wanda after a few minutes to find out which was which.

"Dad. We're both allergic to penicillin, make sure they don't give him any...neither of us are allergic to morphine." Wanda said as the nurse listened in. "That was Anya."

Anya, his eldest daughter, had passed away shortly before the twins were born,but their mother and he had both made sure to tell them all they could about her. Unlike him though, it didn't bother his children to mention their sister. They realized it upset him to do so however, and rarely mentioned her in front of him. The nurse had been at this job long enough to recognize both the past tense usage and his pained expression, she gave him another sympathetic smile but didn't ask anything about it. She did however put a note in the chart to ask him later, in case it may somehow affect his son's treatment.

~0~o~0~

The office was small,warm and lined in bookshelves. A large mahogany desk dominated the center of the room, with dark brown leather chairs surrounding it. Behind the desk sat Robert Kelly. An older man, with dark hair graying heavily on the sides. He had bright blue eyes, filled with contempt as he read through the report in front of him.

"What happened downtown was a good start, but it's not enough."said the man sitting in shadows just outside of the pool of lamplight. "We'll go ahead with the next , Robert your campaign is going well, I expect you won even if the numbers will not be confirmed until tomorrow. Congratulations Senator."

Kelly thanked him, and soon the other man departed and Kelly returned to his office to finish reading the file before shredding it. Everything was going according to plan, though a small part of him wondered who he'd actually made a deal with and what it would cost him in the end. As he did whenever this occurred to him, he shook the thought off as unreasonable. Clearly it was simply nerves from all of the stress. It had been a log few months, but at last it was all coming together.

~0~o~0~

Charles and Logan decided to take the children home via the Blackbird both so they wouldn't miss the holidays and to get them to relative safety if this situation turned ugly. For that reason, Xavier insisted that Jean and Scott also keep their plans, as he stated he wanted as few people as possible in the mansion for the next few days. They refused however, instead Jean called her parents to update them on everything, including her new family. This ended in an argument between Jean and her mother and Jean refusing to even consider going anywhere for Christmas.

By the end of the evening there would only be six people left in the mansion,Jean,Scott, Remy, Rogue,Xavier, and Hank. Logan was not returning after he dropped the others off, instead he intended to go north for a few days.

It was almost evening when Magneto thought to call Charles. He wanted to ensure that Charles was aware of the situation downtown, as well as to ask him to keep an eye out for the three teens who had not arrived in the mountains with his children. Charles decided to bring Remy and Rogue with him, when he insisted on joining his friend, and agreed to look for the other children before they left. He then called Logan back to the mansion,long enough to track down the rest of Magneto's team and give him, Remy, and Rogue a ride to the airport. It would be best if they arrived via normal airline transportation, but they had to get away from New York first. Logan therefore would fly them to Chicago before putting them on a plane to San Diego.

The trip was spent mostly in silence. Remy was nervous about leaving the mansion, even with others; he was also concerned for the others, especially John who he knew would be feeling guilty over this. Rogue was worried for her friend, and angry that this had happened to him. Charles was concerned that Magnus (as he called Magneto) was going to do something rash once his son was stable.

They arrived as the sunset, casting the sky into a deep purple, the city of Los Angelos was awash in light however, as the city lamps took over from the sun. Charles had arranged a car to wait their arrival at the airport and they went directly to the hospital, the driver waiting for them in the parking garage with their luggage in his trunk.

Magneto was still sitting in the lounge, he had changed into a fresh outfit that his daughter had brought him, throwing away the blood soaked grey suit he had been wearing when they'd called him. He was now dressed in a blue button down shirt and tan slacks. He looked very old sitting hunched in the chair awaiting news.

It was hard to believe, looking into the weary and lined face, that this man was often an enemy for right now he was just a worried father in need of support from his only friend. Charles joined him, wheeling up to the empty space at the end of the row of chairs. "Have you heard anything?"

"No." Magneto replied, as he looked up as if only just noticing who had entered. "I sent Wanda to a hotel, she just left. You children should go join her. It will be a long wait."

Rogue opened her mouth as if to protest but Charles interrupted her by adding that the driver would take them to the hotel, and help them with the luggage. They left without protest after that, and we soon at the hotel which was only two blocks away from the hospital.

The suite Charles had arranged was across the hall from the Brotherhood's suite. It was on the sixth and final floor and was really a small apartment in design with two bedrooms a sitting room, a dining area and a kitchenette. Each of the two bedrooms contained two full size beds with a nightstand between them, and a dresser across from the beds. There was a tv mounted in both bedrooms as well as the sitting room, and each bedroom had an attached bath. Rogue didn't want to think about how much this room must have cost the Professor but it worried her enough that she insisted they both take off their shoes in the tiled entry before stepping on the light colored carpet. Remy carried his and Charles bags into one of the bedrooms while Rogue dumped hers just inside the other one, then walked across the hall, still barefooted, and knocked on the door.

Wanda opened it on the first knock, with red-rimmed eyes and rumpled hair. She looked oddly out of character in the white shirt and blue jeans that she was wearing, but she hadn't felt like shopping so she had sent Lance, who was the only one of them not covered in her brother's blood. Lance in turn had just grabbed the first thing in the correct sizes that he could find.

When Wanda saw who it was at the door, she stood aside and Rogue entered, before offering Wanda an awkward hug. Lance and John were sitting on the sofa behind them, both dressed like Wanda in cheep jeans and t-shirts. Rogue told John that Remy was next door, and he should go say hi. John nodded before walking out of the room.

"John's blaming himself for this." Wanda said a few minutes later. It was the first thing she'd actually said since Rogue came in. " He thinks that because they were coming for him, he is somehow at fault for all this. He didn't do anything though, he's being set up."

"We know. He came and talked to us a couple weeks ago when the whole thing started. He ain't to blame for this, whoever is trying to set him up is."

Before Wanda could respond her phone rang. She answered it and walked into the other room, as Lance and Rogue watched her. Both were worried, not just for Pietro but for his sister and John as well. If he didn't get through this all right Rogue worried about what would happen to all of them. She feared it would start a war between the Brotherhood and humans, in which the X-men would have to pick a side. She worried to about Wanda's fragile mental state if anything were to happen to her brother whom she had only recently reconciled with.

Wanda returned to the main room a few minutes later. "Pie's out of surgery and stable. Father and Professor Xavier are waiting to see him, then they'll come back to the hotel to give a full update. They asked we all just stay here for now."

Wanda then walked out of the door. Lance and Rogue watched her leave, knowing that she was going to go to the hospital anyway and they both chose to pretend not to notice her leave. She had, in their opinion, as much right to sit with her brother as their father did. More so, if Lance was being honest with himself, in his mind after everything their father had put them through when they were younger.


	9. Chapter 9

**What is to Come**

Chapter Nine

Scott and Jean were sharing the room across the hall from Charles now. With him, and so many others gone, it felt deserted. The only other room on the third floor that was currently being used was Logan's though he was currently all the way on the other side of the building monitoring security, though Scott suspected that Logan could probably still here them if they talked loudly.

This was why he was trying to keep his voice down right now. It was nearly two in the morning, everyone should be asleep. He had been asleep, in fact, until Jean woke him. They had been trying actively to fix the issues in their relationship since they were married, but he was still closed off from her mentally and she was resentful of it.

She was angry with him, and Charles, over her classes. She'd wanted to move to the city, but Scott had wanted to stay at the mansion both to help and Jean and their child safe. Charles had arranged their course work so that though they were not able to attend in person this semester, she was still completely on track for her medical degree, in fact she could be slightly ahead if she provided enough hours working with Hank in his research.

After hearing all that, Jean had been happy with the plan, and had already agreed to all the arrangements. She was excitedly talking about how helpful it would be to make the same arrangements for next semester just before she fell asleep because of the baby. Then fifteen minutes ago she woke him, completely enraged. As he tried to calm her down, he began to wonder if she was going crazy again. Going crazy was probably not the best way to explain it, he knew, but that's what 'being taken over by the Phoenix' made her.

Jean felt that Scott was ignoring her. She knew he thought she was being crazy, somehow that managed to leak through when nothing else would. He didn't understand how scared she really was, and he didn't seem to want to understand either. She knew she'd messed up weeks ago when he'd proposed and that she had overreacted, but she worried he was going to punish her forever. "What do you want from me Jean? I married you, I've agreed to take care of you both. There isn't some magic wand to wave and make everything in life exactly the way we want it! I wish there was, but there isn't. Grow up."

It was her fear and frustration that made her snap. She wanted to hurt him, as he was hurting her., Though she didn't mean any of it. "You know what Scott? You are the biggest mistake of my life. I wish I'd never met you and I don't want this child. I'm trapped here now, and I can never escape."

Before he could respond she stormed from the room, and he sat there dumbfounded. He knew she didn't really mean it, couldn't really mean it. That wasn't what scared him, it was the thought that the Phoenix did. He wanted to follow her but had no idea what to say, so instead he just listened to her cry in the hallway until Logan arrived a few minutes later.

"What happened kid?" Logan asked, his voice muffled through the door.

"I-I was fighting with Scott. I'm scared." Jean sobbed. "Everything's changing, and we're in danger... and I said terrible things I didn't mean, he'll never forgive me Logan."

"Of course he will." Logan said sounding very uncomfortable. "C'mon lets get you something to drink, then back to bed. You'll be fine in the morning."

Scott listened to them walk away, and wanted to go after them, and tell her that he knew she didn't mean it, but he was worried he'd upset her again. He knew they had both been to emotional and hurtful to each other, and clearly from the bit of the conversation he'd overheard so did she. He decided the best way to handle everything was to go back to bed and hope they were both calm by morning.

He decided to call Charles before heading back to bed though, to ask him if Jean was alright or if Scott was right to worry about the Phoenix. A short conversation later assured him Jean was simply emotional, and not taken over. He went to sleep fully intending to make it all up to her in the morning.

~0~o~0~

Charles suggested Remy and Rogue head back to the mansion on the fifth day. The pair of them were stuck in the hotel room, with nothing to do and no one else to talk to. Remy admitted that he was avoiding going out, this far from the mansion, but Rogue insisted that she was staying in not to keep him company but because she hated crowds.

Charles felt that they were getting stir crazy however, because When he'd returned today they had spread the entire sitting room in what appeared to be blueprints. They had scrambled around collecting it all before he got a good look at what they had, but he'd felt a slight glimpse of guilt/agitation/embarrassment from Rogue and feared them spending too much time alone may lead to Remy reverting to his old lifestyle...and taking Rogue with him.

Logan had also called last night, and told him he felt the Summers' needed a distraction from each other. Logan told him about the fight the two of them had had the night before and that they were still angry with each other, but they were all stuck inside the grounds with no real way of getting away from each other. Logan had decided that he intended to send Scott to go help Ororo and Spyke work on the second mansion that Charles had left them to live in.

Remy and Rogue arrived just after dinner, and Logan informed Scott that he would be taking Scott to Ororo that evening. Jean frowned but didn't protest the idea, and Scott just shrugged.

The couple tried to hide their fight from everyone else, but just being in the same room as the two of them was tense. It wouldn't be so bad, if there had still been more people around. Jean hid in the library while Scott packed. She noticed when she first came in that Remy and Rogue had their heads together, looking over a large collection of papers. When she came in however, they grabbed everything off the table,shoved it into Rogue's bag and pretended to search for a book.

After a few minutes, they left Remy first, then Rogue as though they hadn't been in the room together. Jean was curious what they were actually up to, but couldn't summon the energy to follow after them. She was emotionally and physically exhausted, and decided whatever it was Logan would know about it sooner or later.

Remy was in the kitchen when she arrived downstairs to finish the dishes, however, and had already finished them. Jean frowned slightly before commenting. " I was coming back to finish clearing up, I'd just taken a break."

" Well, To be fair, shoulda been my night to do it,'cept you didn' know I'd be here, so I decided to take care of it." Remy said.

"I don't need everyone taking care of me all the time!" Jean said.

" Never said I was taking care of you, didn't think it either. Just doing my part to keep up with the household. " Remy said, bristling at her tone slightly. "Just cause you got in a fight with your husband don' mean you gotta take it out on everyone everything's about you. Did it ever occur to ya that maybe I still feel I owe you all for all that time I couldn't help out?"

Not waiting for her to respond he walked out of the kitchen. However when she ran into him again a few minutes later in the tv room watching a movie with Rogue, he brushed off her attempt at apology, acting as if he had no idea what she was talking about when she tried.

She then changed tactics, and asked what they were watching,really just not wanting to be alone. Rogue shrugged and told her the name before scooting slightly closer to Remy to make room on the couch. "You're welcome to join us, it just started, we can even restart if ya want."

"I don't want to intrude..."

"Nah it's fine, ain't it Remy?"

"Hmm... nope I see no problem with you joining us." Remy said. It took all of his will power not to say anything suggestive at that moment, but he could tell that both girls were likely to go off on him if he did, and one argument was enough for the day, so he spent the next several minutes struggling to hold his tongue until the movie's plot finally distracted him.

~0~o~0~

Bobby didn't explain his return to the mansion that evening. No one asked either. Bobby was among the Xavier's students whose parents' had never been informed of the nature or their child. Unfortunately, Bobby had recently been listed among those who had been both in the battle of Apocalypse and the Bayville House Arrest list. When the news ran last night, his picture had been shown as one of the twenty-seven mutants from various locked down Bayville locations who was now unaccounted for. Sadly his father had not reacted well to this news, so Bobby had arranged a train ticket back, and contacted Logan for a ride home. He didn't want to talk about it, and no one was going to push. Logan and Hank both suspected Bobby wouldn't be the last student to return like this.

Logan dropped Bobby off, then left insisting that he needed to continue his nightly search for the three missing Brotherhood members. Rogue and Remy invited Jean and Bobby into a round of cards, none of them wishing to speak on any serious matters that were bothering them, but all feeling the weight of the last few weeks weighing heavily anyway.

It was well past midnight, everyone was asleep, except Logan who was taking his turn in the security room. The guards and protesters outside the gates never really died down, though they seemed to be in a lull as well.

He had returned around ten that night, and noticed the subdued atmosphere of the mansion. Hank as usual had been in his lab. Bobby was watching a movie, and everyone else was in their rooms. It was too quiet since the majority of the house cleared out. Logan had spent most of his life in solitude, so it was an bit annoying to him how accustomed he'd become to the constant sounds of a dozen teenagers underfoot.

Logan had just switched the alarm over to his room, intent on going to sleep himself for awhile, and stood when he heard the rev of the engine over the monitor. He barely had enough time to turn around when a large SUV drove through their front gate, knocking aside the guards and fellow protesters alike. It screeched across the lawn as Logan cursed and typed in the code, sounding the alarm and lowering the steel shutters over the windows and doors of the mansion.

Remy, Rogue came running down the front stairs and Bobby from the tv room in pajamas, under-dressed but ready to fight if necessary. Hank arrived seconds later from the lab, as Remy was raiding the sideboard for cards. Rogue was pulling on her her gloves to ensure they'd come off easily if necessary. Bobby was mentally testing the humidity in the room, which he would be forced to tap into if a battle broke out for his ice powers. Logan paced like a caged tiger, prepared for whatever happened next.

The wall shook as the SUV hit it, but didn't break. The truck backed up, before hitting the building a second time and stalling. The guards, all volunteered off duty police, had made it as far as the fountain ten feet from the front door now, as the men inside the SUV stumbled out and rushed toward them.

The men had just reached the fountain themselves when the SUV exploded, taking with it a section of the wall, and throwing both the members of the household, and the people near the fountain in opposite directions. The men outside struggled to their feet and amid the ringing in their ears, tried to made it back to the mansion. Fires were everywhere across the lawn and front of the building. Two of the six men, both from the SUV were burned, a third, one of the police, was bleeding from a gash in his scalp, but the other three, two from the SUV and a second policeman/guard, were unharmed.

Inside, Rogue had landed against the wall, with Remy, then Bobby landing on top of her. Hank had thankfully landed two feet to the left, and Logan five to the right. As they struggled to their feet to untangle the others, Logan yelled for Hank to go check on Jean who had not come downstairs yet. Bobby and Remy helped Rogue, who was clutching her ribs, to her feet. Then Remy turned to the hole in the wall, and Bobby attempted to summon enough ice to put out the fires around the room.

Once the younger members were back to their feet, Logan rushed from the room via the hole in the wall to prevent anyone from coming inside. More people, both protesters and guards streamed onto the grounds, as other either stared in shock or ran away. Sirens could be heard at a distance as firemen and additional police rushed toward the scene.

Logan took less than a second to decide who was the enemy and rushed forward to attack the occupants of the SUV. He tackled the first two men in one swoop, before going after the next one who had gotten as far as the flaming truck. The insurgence of people had nearly reached the fountain now, and fighting among each other, as well as several shooting at Logan.

Bobby and Rogue were both coughing heavily, Rogue was helpless at the moment, her ribs hurting too badly to run, and her powers useless without contact. Remy was defending her as the swarm of people broke past Logan and entered the house, standing between her and them, throwing cards charged enough to knock them back without killing them. Bobby was quickly running out of steam as the fire stole the moisture from the air, Remy screaming for him to get back and get Rogue out of the room.

Chaos was at it's height, smoke made it nearly impossible to see anything, noise and fire everywhere, Bobby trying to get to Remy and Rogue, Rouge slumped against the wall, Logan still chasing the enemy throughout the yard. Suddenly, everything froze.

Jean glided down the stairs, hair and eyes alight in a golden flame, the Phoenix in full control. With a swipe of her hand the fires were gone, the police and protesters knocked unconscious, and the power of Bayville out. They would discover later it was the entire Eastern Seaboard that went black, but for now their biggest concern was calming the Phoenix.

Rogue was in no condition to absorb her. Scott was too far away to contact, as was Charles. As she slowly floated from the house, anger wafting off of her in waves, Remy pulled Rogue to safety, Bobby stared frightened after her, and Hank rushed for the medlab. Their only hope of stopping her before she got out of hand was to tranquilize her, provided he could get close enough to do so.


	10. Chapter 10

_What is to Come_

Chapter Ten

Bobby and Remy moved the invaders onto the lawn, Bobby then freezing the hole in the wall solid as a temporary barrier, as Hank and Logan followed Phoenix's path of destruction in search of their friend.

Rogue was down in the medlab, Hank had given her a sedative and painkiller before he left, and promised to look her over when he returned. Remy and Logan had both argued against this, and felt that Hank should look her over first, but Hank had pulled Logan aside and reminded him of Jean's condition and the uncertainty of how it would affect the Phoenix. Afterward Logan reluctantly agreed that Jean was the priority and Rogue would be alright until they returned.

Logan considered allowing Rogue to absorb him, and heal immediately, but again he was reminded that he needed to have his full strength in case the situation was as bad as it appeared. Rogue for her part, assured Logan she would be alright so he had gone, not without voicing his dislike at leaving the girl injured and untreated. Remy had returned to the lab as soon as they had finished upstairs, while Bobby stayed near the hole to ensure it stayed closed.

Logan and Hank followed the wake Phoenix left behind, in the form of battered cars and houses, as she made her way northwest out of town. It didn't take long for them to guess she was headed in the direction of Scott. This might have been good news, if not for the three town that stood n the direct path of her destination, or if thy were certain that Phoenix didn't intend some harm upon Scott and those with him. Phoenix was unpredictable however, and Jean had been angry with Scott before he left, so they didn't know what to expect if she made it all the way there.

Forty-five minutes after she had descended the stairs, they finally caught up with her over a field, within sight of the town of Harrisburg. They arrived just as the local emergency personal did, and Hank walked over to try to talk them into stepping back while Logan approached the still glowing and clearly angry girl.

Logan walked slowly toward her, as he tried to think of the best thing to say to calm her down. This was usually Charles area, or Ororo's. Logan wasn't the best at calming people down. It didn't matter after all though, because he didn't manage to get past her name before he was thrown back across the field with a fiery wing.

He sat up, smoldering as everyone stared in horror. The girl was now encased in a flaming bird. Logan sighed heavily. He knew it wasn't going to be that easy, if it was it wouldn't be them. Hank took over, rushing forward and dodging flaming spikes sent out by the bird as it rose higher and higher, until just as it reached sixty feet up, Hank climbed on top of the tractor in one bound and shot the tranquiler gun at her. It reached it's target, just as he was thrown back like Logan before him.

Hank sat up and not bothering to smother the flames in his fur bounded, on all four as it was quicker, back toward the girl. Logan realized what was about to happen and ran after him as well, but they were too far away. Jean fell as fast if not faster than she rose, straight into the field. Hank had intended to catch her, instead they found her in a small crater of her own making.

Emergency personal surged forward, until both men growled at them to stay back. Hank grabbed the stretcher from them and then he and Logan carefully loaded Jean onto it before wheeling it back to the van. An EMT protested. "You can't just drive off with her! She needs to go to the hospital. She could have internal bleeding, broken bones, who knows what else."

"Our kind ain't welcome at the hospital right now. The Governor decreed it this morning." Logan reminded the man as he climbed in after her. "Sides, we've got doctors of our own."

Before the EMT could protest further, Hank started the van and Logan slid the door shut on them. It wasn't a secret at this point where they were headed, so the police told the EMT to just let them go.

~0~o~0~

Kelly was pleased as he sat once more at his desk,lit by candles,the room was vacant except for him. However he knew the loss of power had to mean that the plan had worked. One of those... _ **things**_ had to be the cause of the blackout. It was now only a matter of time before the others in the senate listened to him about the dangers of mutants. When he was sworn in next month his first order of duty was going to be the Mutant Registration Act. He was going after it now,while tensions were still high.

He sat there,gloating over his apparent victory, when the man of shadows came into the room. "I hope you don't mind, I let myself in. With the power out, I doubt the bell is working." he said as he sat in his usual chair. Kelly nodded at him. Though it did bother him that the other man came and went as he pleased something about him made Kelly hold his tongue." Everything went splendidly Robert. I watched from across town. Not only was everyone convinced the attack was necessary, they are terrified what will happen next thanks to their reaction. They sent some sort of large bird made of fire after the attackers."

"Made of fire? Was it Allerdyce? Because if he's with them that could complicate things and-"

"Relax. It wasn't him, and even if he told them everything he knew, even if they believed him, after what happened with the police no one else will."said the Man with a frown." Everything is going to plan, don't get cold feet now Robert. It far too late to back out now."

"I have no intention of backing down, my only concern is for what would happen if our involvement was learned by the wrong people."

"Your involvement. I am of no consequence. As I desired." said the man with a shrug. He stood and walked behind Kelly to pour himself a glass of brandy from the decanter on the desk He took a sip as he set it back down, before suddenly throwing the glass aside and lifting Kelly by the thought in the same movement. "Do not think of betraying me now Robert. We've worked so well together, I'd hate to have to start anew with another puppet."

Kelly nodded weakly and was still trying to catch his breath as the other man walked from the room,slamming the door hard enough to blow out the candles. Kelly had worried before this, but until now he hadn't truly been afraid. He doubted now that this man was actually a man at all, and it was far too late to back out of this. He'd sold his soul to the devil, and now all that was left was to watch the world burn.

~0~o~0~

Charles sat quietly waiting for Erik to return from Pietro's room. Erik was discussing the boy's condition with the doctors. Charles hated to leave his friend at a time like this, but he had to go. The East coast had lost power an hour ago, but the reports were saying that it originated in New York just outside of the city. Charles knew it had to be something wrong at the mansion, he had attempted to contact them with no response, either by phone or communicator that every adult X-men had.

Charles explained this to Erik when he came out of the room, who agreed Charles should go find out what had happened, but insisted on sending John and Lance back with him as well, to ensure his safety. "I'll send them back to you, Magnus, as soon as I know my children are safe."

"Keep them with you Charles, and find Tabitha,Todd and Fred. They need comfort as much as Wanda." Erik replied. "When my son recovers, I will send for them, we will go somewhere safe. I will not risk the lives of my children again. Some battles came never be won Charles. You would be wise to remove yours to safety as well."

"I still believe there's hope Magnus, but not if we run."

"Very well Charles." Magneto said, as he turned back to rejoin his son and daughter."When you realize they will never leave us alone, then you will join me."

Charles shook his head sadly, and left to collect John, Lance, and his luggage. Without the Blackbird, they would have to take a plane as far east as possible then rent a car, unless Magneto decided to transport them.

Not wanting to bother Magneto, or take him from his children for a few hours with Pietro still in a coma, Charles didn't bother to ask. Instead he and the others packed, dressed in street clothes, which meant his usual suit for Charles, and jeans for the boys, and made their way to the airport.

Reaching the airport had it's own set of complications. Lance didn't want to leave Wanda and her father alone, so he tried to stay behind first as the got into the car, then again when they were passing through security. John had been helpful, carrying bags to the car, pushing Charles' wheelchair when he switched from the motorized one at the airport (his normal chair had to be checked and placed in cargo due to size), and calming Lance down.

Then they got to the security checkpoint and he learned he would not be allowed to bring his lighters. He,like Remy and Piotr, had been transported by Magneto when they joined him. John had never traveled by public airline. "What do they mean no lighters? That's the dumbest rule I've ever heard! And how is five excessive anyway? Don't they know what it's like to try to light something and find out the lighter ran out? It's not like I tried to bring the tanks." John complained as he walked away, now without his lighters, pushing Charles and annoyed.

"You aren't aloud to smoke on the plane anyway, so I think they think you wouldn't need a lighter." Lance said.

"I don't smoke at all!"

"You can buy a new one in the gift shop."

"Where's the gift shop?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait until we land John." Charles interrupted. "However, when we do, Lance and I will each buy you one as well. I will replace the silver one when we reach the mansion. I have no need for it but my step-father had a very nice gold lighter left to me in his will."

This seemed to appease John greatly, though he was still slightly annoyed. He had thought ahead enough to leave his favorite lighter in his luggage, thankfully, but he still felt under-dressed without any means of fire-starting.

Lance understood how he felt, since as soon as the plane was in the air he felt off balance. More so than when Magneto flew them thanks to the magnetic field he generated. Lance however had flown before so he knew it was coming. It was part of the reason he had tried to stay behind.

Lance, who could create earthquakes, was extremely connected to the Earth. Being separated from the source of his power was an unnerving and almost painful feeling. Charles was concerned for him; he knew that ,depending on the person, separation from the earth for those with Earth based powers like Lance or Amara could cause damage to their health if it lasted long enough. Ororo was the same, if she was kept from the elements, she would become ill.

Lance handed John a book of matches he had picked up off a table in the visitor's lounge before the checkpoint. Charles noticed the hand off, but decided not to say anything. He trusted that John would not cause trouble on the plane. John had been in the hotel for nearly three weeks and hadn't started any fires as far as Charles knew, so a few hours on a plane should be alright. However access to fire would help calm his nerves. He just wished there was something he could do for Lance as well.

~0~o~0~

Logan and Hank returned with Jean, still drugged and asleep, and carried her carefully down to the lab. Rogue was still awake laying quietly in the bed as Remy read to her. Bobby had fallen into a fitful sleep on the couch near the hole in the wall. He was completely drained, unused to using his powers this much.

Even with Jean out, power had not yet been restored, and the mansion was lit by candles. It gave the rooms an eerie feeling. Logan walked over to Rogue, the flickering light did little to hide the concern in his face, as he sat next to her. Remy excused himself and left the lab quickly. He had only forced himself to stay so that she wouldn't be alone, now that there were others here, he couldn't bare to be in the room any longer. "How are ya holding up kid?" Logan asked as he took Rogue's hand.

"Been better to be honest. My ribs hurt, even with this nice IV." Rogue said in a rasping voice. Logan's concern, which had been evident when he walked into the room, grew at her tone. Without further delay, he removed his gloves and held out his hand, but she shook her head. "It gives me nightmares, what if I need to help with Jean?Two this close together...we might end up in the same boat anyway."

"You ain't going to be helping with anyone if we don't get you fixed up. Just take it Rogue. I can't do anything for Jean, but I can for you. With you better, Hank will be able to focus on Jean." Logan had spotted the look on Hank's face and knew he'd heard the rattle in Rogue's breathing as well. Sometime while they were gone she had started bleeding internally. It wasn't bad yet but left untreated it would be with in the hour. Jean too was broken up from her fall, they could hear it, if Logan could he would heal the other girl as well.

Rogue reluctantly took his hand, for just a moment. She felt her ribs stitch back together, and whatever had been pressing against her lungs clear away. She was still a little sore, but even as she started to sit up that began to pass as well. Logan shook his head, dizzy, and waved her and the doctor away with an assurance that he'd be fine in a few minutes.

Rogue, who now contained a fresh copy of Logan's skills, offered to help Hank prep Jean instead of waiting for Logan to recover. He could replace her when the weakness passed. It was the best she could do to alleviate the guilt she felt whenever she used her powers, to do things like this.

Logan had at one point in his long career, done some work as a field medic. It wasn't the ideal training to assist the doctor in surgery to rely on an assistant who's only training was borrowed and patchy thirty year old memories of field trauma treatment, but Jean couldn't wait any longer. Rogue was good at following instructions, which worked in their favor, but they all wished there was a better choice, preferably one with surgical experience.


	11. Chapter 11

**What is to Come**

Chapter Eleven

In the three months following the attack at Xavier's very little had changed. Crowds of protesters gathered daily in front of the gates, the occupants of the mansion were only allowed to leave the grounds with police escort, and only to replenish supplies, or attend medical or legal meetings. Only the Summers, Remy, Rogue, and John remained at the mansion with Charles and Beast (Hank). Logan had taken Bobby with him following the attack, and joined Ororo further north. Lance had found Tabitha,Todd and Fred, but they had decided to travel back to California to be with Pietro and Wanda.

There were more police guarding the gates than there had been that night, mostly to keep the protesters from attacking again, but also to keep an eye out for the Phoenix. Jean however was far to drained for a repeat performance, even if she had wanted to. She had recovered from the injuries of the fall, but mentally she was still fragile. Scott had arrived the day after the event, just as she was coming out of her second surgery. He felt guilty over their fight, worried that it may have lead in part to what had happened, and knew that if something happened to her he would never forgive himself. Charles arrived just after Scott, and though he had assured Scott repeatedly that what happened was thanks to the attack Scott was not comforted.

Remy and Rogue had been working together and with Charles on power-control, though he refused to allow her to practice absorbing with Remy. It made sense to them both, Remy's powers had continued to grow over the last few weeks, and much like Jean's, they didn't want it to overload Rogue. Remy was still having slips, and Rogue was having less difficulty with her powers. Charles explained to them that he wanted them to work together because it was his belief that the same problem was the root of both their struggles. When asked what he thought the problem was however, he refused to say more than that. It was frustrating for both of them, to feel as if the answer was in their grasp, but still completely out of reach.

Rogue's first break-through, minor though it was, happened this morning. She had manged to turn off her powers, for about thirty seconds, while practicing with Scott. She claimed that it was just a delayed reaction, and that they weren't really off, but the others saw it as a step in the right direction. Jean and Scott both insisted on a celebration, and went off to the kitchen to prepare a feast, Charles assured her that she had indeed turned them off momentarily. Hank came out of his lab long enough to offer encouragement (and more tests). John thought a light display was mandatory.

Remy kissed her. It was impulsive, he hadn't meant to do it. He knew it was a bad idea, not just because of her powers but because he had gained her trust and friendship, and now here he was wanting more than that. He was going to be lucky if he walked away from this with anything at all. Amazed that he'd had time to think all this, and that she hadn't punched him, he pulled away. Only to realize he was still awake...and that she'd kissed him back. They scared wide-eyed at each other for a moment. "Y-you kissed me?!"

"I'm still awake."

"Yeah. And you kissed me. Why? Why are you still awake? Why'd you kiss me? What's going on?"

"I don't know why I'm still awake. I kissed you because I wanted to, for a really long time, and didn't think about it. I lost my head. It's good you didn't absorb me...I shouldn't have done that, Charles said-"

"You wanted- Never mind, we'll talk about it later, right now we need to talk to the Professor, and Dr. McCoy."

"Ugh... He's going to drag us to the lab isn't he?" Remy said as he followed her to Xavier's office. Xavier was on the phone when they came in, he raised an eyebrow at Rogue's excited face, and held up a finger to show he would be finished soon.

He was on the phone with Erik, who called frequently to update them on Pietro's so far unchanging condition. The other two sat down and waited for him to finish. They could tell from Charles' end of the conversation that things still hadn't improved.

Eventually Charles hung up and turned his attention to the others in the room. Rogue felt the need to demonstrate instead of explaining what had occurred and pulling off her glove, she grabbed Remy's hand and yelled 'Look!'. Remy smirked, enjoying her obvious delight at touching someone without harm, Charles leaned forward as if to stop her, and she just smiled holding their joined hand aloft.

"Let go if you begin to absorb him." Charles said as he entered her mind to look at her powers. He emerged a few minutes later, concerned frown on his face. "Nothing has changed from earlier. Which is to say you have made progress my dear, however, not to this extent."

"I didn't think I had, which means something's going on with his right?" Rogue said as Remy groaned. He knew this is where the testing would come up. Before it did, he stood and walked toward the door hoping to at least avoid it.

"So, since it's no new progress, then there's nothing to talk about. We'll just let you get back to business here Professor, and I believe Rogue wanted to have a talk." It was a sign of how little he wanted to visit the lab that he reminded her of this, since just a few minutes ago he would have sworn he'd do anything to delay her probable anger at him over the kiss.

Charles stopped him before he reached the door. "Remy, yes it does appear to be a change. To your mutation. I understand your discomfort, however, we must attempt to understand. We do not want any accidents that could have been prevented." Remy slumped back into his chair, glaring at Charles. The man always knew what buttons to push to get you to see things 'reasonably' in moments like this it didn't feel reasonable to him, more like manipulation. Rogue promised to stay with him, and he felt a bit better about his trip to the lab, but not much. He hated labs.

He'd never been fond of doctors, but after his brush with Sinister, he was terrified of them. He'd thought some of the stuff Magneto got up to was twisted, but it was mild in light of the things he'd seen and felt under Sinister's 'care'. After Charles contacted Hank, Remy walked down to the lab with the air of a condemned man, Rogue by his side assuring him the whole way.

~0~o~0~

Erik and Wanda had agreed that they would never leave Pietro alone. Neither wanted him to wake in a strange place , no familiar faces around. Wanda had spent too much time alone to want that for him, and Magneto regretted that.

Erik had left an hour ago, just after Wanda arrived, and called Charles with the update. Wanda sat by her brother's side reading aloud from the paper, then a novel they had started last week. A nurse arrived along with the doctor in charge of Pietro's care. Which is how the first thing Pietro saw when awaking was the face of the nurse, who was bending over him, checking his temperature, as the doctor and Wanda stood a foot away talking.

The nurse called to them, and Wanda rushed to her brother's side before the doctor traded places with the nurse, and began checking Pietro's monitors. Wanda help his hand, and was overjoyed when he squeezed it weakly in return. She wasn't hopeful enough to think that this was the end of their ordeal, but it had to be a step in the right direction.

The doctor left a few minutes later to call their father, and Wanda turned all of her attention to her brother. "You're going to be okay now. You should've known better than to step in front of a bullet brother, you had everyone worried."

"H-h-h _cough_ How l-l-long."

"Three months, you been in a coma. Look on the plus side, you did all that painful healing asleep. I'll ask if you can have something to drink."

Erik rushed into the room a few minutes later, as Wanda was just setting aside the cup of water the nurse had provided. He was beside his son, before either twin could register he'd walked in and did something he hadn't since they were very small. He swept Pietro into a hug, and a moment later dragged Wanda into it as well.

These last few weeks, all he'd done was sit and dwell. Dwell on how his actions had led to all of this, how he'd nearly lost his son...and his daughter. He had vowed o himself, if his children were restored to him, he would change. He would stop seeking fights, he would cherish his time with them. These were promises made in grief, and over the next few weeks and months his resolve would be tested, but for now he was simply happy to have his son rejoin the world.

~0~o~0~

Remy was sullen as he finally made his way back upstairs with Rogue. True to her word, she had stayed with him through the entire process, which did little to soothe his nerves at the moment as he rubbed the bandage around his elbow. The doctor had taken several blood samples, ran a battery of scans, asked for a urine sample, and then ran more scans, and finally released Remy three hours later. The sullen and annoyed look was directed at the Hank's parting statement. "Well that should do for today, Please return in the morning so we can finish up."

They arrived in the deserted TV room, and Rogue turned to him, now ready to finish their conversation. One look at his face however told her that he was not in the mood to talk about anything serious, so instead she challenged him to a movie marathon of her choosing. Soon they were engrossed in mindless movie violence as she chose an action movie series to try to cheer him up.

They were on the third and final movie when John joined them. He noticed the bandage on Remy's elbow, and said "What happened there?"

Remy, who had relaxed greatly over the last few hours stiffened and said. "I don't want to talk about it John."

"He had some tests done, and isn't in the mood to go over it." Rogue said when John opened his mouth to continue the questioning.

"Testing?" John said as he looked from Remy's elbow, to his face,to Rogue. Rogue was sitting slightly closer to Remy than normal, though this was to comfort him from his ordeal. What John actually noticed was she was slightly less tense as well, and didn't jump when they both reached for their sodas at the same time. He pieced together rather easily that something had gone on, and was about to ask further when Charles informed him telepathically that Wanda wished to speak to him. As he was leaving he threw over his shoulder. "I knew you liked her mate, but I didn't know you were that bad."

Rogue blushed and Remy groaned. He should have known better than to confide in John. Sooner or later everything he heard came back out of his mouth. "I- John's a freak."

"So do you actually like me, or is he making things up again?" Rogue asked, unsure what answer she hoped for. She liked Remy, but with her powers being what they are, she was afraid of dating anyone. On the other hand, Remy was able to kiss her earlier and that lessened the fear a bit. She wouldn't have to constantly worry that she would accidentally brush his hand, or that he'd hug her wrong. Provided this wasn't a freak moment in his powers or hers.

"I care a lot for you Rogue. I don't want to loose your friendship." Remy said. He was worried about this most of all. It had taken him months to earn her trust, after all. He knew that was his own fault, and something he regretted often. He'd been attracted to her the first time he saw. He'd realized he liked her and would love to be at least her friend while he was monitoring her. Then he kidnapped her to use her to find his father. "Would you like to go to dinner with me? And if you decide it's not what you want, we can pretend it never happened."

"I'd like that Remy, but we can't go to dinner. We can't leave the grounds."

"I private picnic then, just the two of us."

"There's four feet of snow on the ground!"

"In the Danger Room. Logan's not here to smell food in there and rip into us."

"Okay. One date, that's all I'm promising."

The moment was ruined by John rushing back into the room, holding the phone and yelling that Pietro was awake. Jean and Scott rushed in after he yelled to find out what was going on, and Hank joined them as well. He had been on his way to the kitchen when he heard the yell.

Everyone cheered at this, and Scott informed everyone the feast he and Jean had been working on all afternoon was nearly ready, suggesting that they use it to celebrate this good news as well as Rogue's. Rogue agreed, uncomfortable with being the center of attention anyway and glad to have at least some of it redirected.

 **A/N: I realize I am terribly behind in responding to reviews and I apologize. I will do my best to respond to everyone in the next few days, but in the meanwhile I'd like to thank you all for taking the time to review. I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**What is to Come**

Chapter Twelve

Scott and Jean had been in bed for the last hour, after Remy insisted on cleaning up the 'party' that had gone on for several hours, Charles had retired to his room just a few minutes before. Hank had been the first to leave, as soon as he had eaten he had returned to the lab. Rogue had tried to escape as well, but Remy had insisted she help him with the clean up. She'd huffed, rolled her eyes, grumbled to everyone in earshot that she wasn't the one that offered to do it, then had gotten to work. This amused the household, though none of them let her know.

As the ground floor emptied, Remy saw it as a great opening to continue their earlier conversation without embarrassing her. "So, about this picnic-" he started as he wiped down the counter and John walked into the room.

Rogue promised to talk to him later and slipped out of the room as Remy glared at John. John ignored his friend's glare and sat on the counter watching Remy load the dishwasher and talking about the good fortune of the day. He hoped that Wanda and her family would be able to return home soon now that her brother was awake.

"So." John said after he had finished recounting the events leading up to Pietro's injuries again. He frequently did this. Remy always just listened, understanding John needed to talk about it. "Anyway, enough about me. You and Rogue , huh?"

"What about me and Rogue?"

"Yeah right. Did you finally ask her out or something?"

"... Yes."

"What else happened?"

"Nothing."

"Unhuh. Sure."

"I'm not doing this 'spill all our feelings' thing John. You only want more material for your books."

"I'm not even working on a book right now!" John said, but relented at Remy's expression. "I mean I am, but I don't need anything for it, I was just asking."

Remy was about to tell John to mind his own business again when the phone rang, an explosion rocked the house, and Jean and Scott came into the kitchen. John rushed from the room to find the source of the trouble as the alarms blared and Scott yelled over them asking where Hank was. Remy said. "In the lab." as he rushed after John.

Rogue met them in the front hall, and they were joined by Charles moments later, who demanded to know what happened. None of them knew yet, but Remy rushed to the security room to review the footage and find out.

It didn't take long, the video feed from the front camera clearly showed someone throw a flaming bottle at the front door, after climbing over the wall and running across the lawn. The person was clearly supposed to be John in his uniform. He looked nearly identical in the semi-darkness shown in the footage. If not for the fact that he'd been in the kitchen with Remy, Remy would have suspected it was him at least.

As far as they were concerned, it was proof enough that it was Kelly behind this attack. Charles however, reminded the others that accusing the man without proof would do nothing but create more trouble.

The attacker, whoever he had really been, was already gone. He'd slipped back into the woods as the police ran toward the house. As clearly planned, several of them saw him. Then the shields had come down, and the hidden gun-wells up. Remy typed in the command to turn off the defenses before anyone was hurt.

The policemen who had been standing right outside knocked on the remains of the front door before coming in. Charles assured them that everyone was alright, and that they would have the door repaired in the morning. The police insisted on looking around anyway, which Charles agreed to.

Rogue, Remy, and John went to the living room where they could sit out of the way while keep an eye on the front door as Charles led the police in a tour of the hour. John was fuming. He wanted to leave, go in search of his doppelganger, and demand answers. Only the constant whispered reminders that he was being watched right now kept him on the couch.

To distract herself, Rogue decided to listen to the messages, and left to the security room to do so in private where no one would overhear them. Jamie, then Kurt, then (surprisingly) Kitty had each called in turn to inform Charles they were on their way back to the mansion.

Before Rogue could call any of them back, the phone rang again, this time it was Jubilee also calling to say she was on her way back. She told Rogue that everyone should be coming back in the next day or two and when Rogue asked why she said. "Haven't you been watching the news? They just passed a new law. If you're a mutant you have to be in one of the 'approved,known mutant houses' by the end of the week or you will be jailed. It's been on all afternoon. I talked to Kitty earlier, they refused her visa because she's a mutant, Piotr decided he's coming back with her. Amara texted me earlier, so far she's going to be allowed to stay home. Good thing her dad's important, huh? Anyway it's a mess."

"I have to go tell the others, thanks Jubes."

"No problem. What's going on over there that you missed it?"

"Oh the usual, someone trying to blow up the mansion. Power issues. Celebrations earlier."

"Oh. It's never dull over there, at least there's that."

Rogue went in search of the others to tell them what she had learned, but it turned out to be unnecessary. Wanda had called John while she was gone. Wanda had given John the same news, as well as informing him that her father had no intention of being told what to do and they were leaving. John agreed to meet them, and had already gone upstairs to pack.

Charles had just returned after showing the police out. He listened with his usual calm expression as they told him what was going on, before nodding sadly and with a sigh said the police had just informed him that they had been ordered to retreat so that everyone who wanted to come, could come. They would be doing their best to keep the protesters further back as well.

The lights flared, and electronics in the room blared briefly. Then the power went out. They barely noticed however, as everyone in the room aside from Remy were clutching their heads as if they were being attacked. He looked around in shock. Rogue muttered "Jean", before they all fell to the floor unconscious. Remy was immune to psychics, both Xavier and Magneto had told him as much anyway. He had never been more grateful of that than when he was with Sinister and now.

Frowning, he went in search of Jean. He hoped they weren't going to have a repeat of last time, because as far as he could tell, everyone but him was out and he would have no idea how to calm her down. He used the fire exit to go down to the lower levels, remembering that Scott and Jean had been looking for Hank just before the attack.

In the medlab he found Scott and Hank sprawled across the floor, much like those upstairs. Further into the lab, he found her. Jean was floating, apparently unconscious herself, in the center of the room, with equipment swirling around her.

He wasn't sure whether the best approach was to wake her, or to somehow pull her down. Now that he knew she was the source of the trouble for certain, he decided the best choice was to contact someone who had dealt with this before. He slowly backed out of the lab, then went up the stairs while pulling out his cell phone. He'd have to get to the first floor before he could get a signal, but he'd already pulled up Logan's number.

As soon as he had reception he pushed send, while closing the door behind him, and heading toward the pantry where the breakers were. He hoped the power would come right back answered with his usual gruff greeting, and Remy explained what happened as he flipped the switched the breakers. Luckily the power came back on. Logan told him they'd be there in a few minutes.

Rogue came into the kitchen rubbing her head, as Remy came out of the pantry. In the living room, John was helping Charles back into his chair. In the medlab Scott and Hank were picking themselves up off the floor, as Jean fell to the ground. Outside, sirens began to wail, as the people of Bayville awoke.

Logan, Ororo,Bobby, Spyke, and Jade arrived as the others finished sweeping up the medlab, and foyer. Logan went straight for the medlab, with Ororo, while Bobby, Spyke and Jade went toward the foyer. Hank and Scott were in the lab with Charles, the former two sweeping while the latter sitting next to Jean. "What happened?" Logan demanded as he came in.

"Jean miscarried tonight. She didn't take the news well." Hank replied.

"How is she now?"

"We don't know. Charles is with her." Scott said. His voice was rough, clearly he'd been crying himself. Hank had suggested several times that he either go sit with Jean or lie down, but Scott insisted on helping with the mess in the lab.

Ororo went to go help Charles, but Logan drug Scott from the lab, telling him he needed to get some air. Scott reluctantly followed Logan past the others and out onto the front lawn. Scott sank onto the stone bench next to the fountain while Logan lit his cigar.

They sat in silence for several minutes,watching the policemen on the gate trying to get everyone to move back as was ordered. Eventually Scott said. "Jean woke me about an hour after we went to bed, saying her stomach hurt. I took her down to the lab, I figured it was nothing serious, you know?I mean she's been having pains off and on since her accident a few months ago. I wasn't really worried, but wanted to be sure she was okay. We heard this loud explosion as we got off the elevator and I thought about going back upstairs, but I wanted to be sure she was okay. We found Hank and he looked her over. Then Hank came back in to tell us what was going on, after he ran some tests and she just lost it."

"I'm sorry kid."

"Thing is, she must have read Hank's mind or something, because he hadn't said anything yet. I-I didn't know what happened until we all woke back up. She just started screaming, and that was that."

"She probably sensed something was wrong before that. It's not going to be easy for her, the next few weeks. Or you." Logan said, patting Scott's shoulder. "It a rough thing to happen Summers. Wouldn't wish this on anyone. But you gotta try to be there for her...and we'll be there for you."

Scott nodded, then stood to return to the mansion. He wanted to be there when she woke up. Logan finished his cigar, then returned to the foyer. He came in as John was explaining that he was leaving in the morning, when Wanda and her father arrived for him. Logan filled everyone upstairs in on what had happened in the lab, and they filled him in on what was happening the last few hours up in the main part of the mansion. Logan decided that he was staying here, and intended to encourage at least Ororo if not Spyke and Jade to stay as well.

Ororo, it turned out, didn't require much convincing when she learned the others were all being forced to return. Spyke and Jade insisted on speaking to the rest of their people before they decided what they were going to do, because they assumed that staying where they had been was not going to continue to be allowed thanks to this new law.

Logan agreed to take them back in the morning, and to bring Ororo her things. She wanted to stay near Jean in case the girl needed her support. Jade had avoided everyone for the most part. She was a shy girl, and didn't really like being around those she didn't know well. Spyke had kept her in the conversation as they worked with the others to clean up the living room and foyer, but now that this was finished, she was sitting in the corner waiting for Spyke to ask where they would be sleeping.

He realized this was what his wife was waiting for, and asked about it, Ororo told them to take the room they had last time. With the guests leaving Rogue and Remy both decided that it was no longer rude to go to bed themselves, quickly followed by John, leaving Ororo and Logan to put away the cleaning supplies.

Scott wandered into the kitchen as they finished taking the trash out, in search of coffee. Ororo tried once more to send him to bed, but he refused."I need to be there when she wakes up. We've been so strained the last few months. She can't wake up without me there, Storm."

"I understand. Still, I do not feel you should sit alone, I will come with you."

"That's not necessary, you should get some sleep, tomorrow will be a long day."

"As should you, but it does not appear either of us will do so." Ororo said as she led him out of the kitchen and toward the elevator, intent on staying with him no matter what he said. No one should be alone in their grief, in her opinion.


	13. Chapter 13

**What is to Come**

Chapter Thirteen

In the days that followed, more and more people arrived. Kitty and Piotr arrived, with his sister Illyana, the day after Kurt returned. John left with Lance and the rest of the Brotherhood, and a very pale looking Pietro, along with his new girlfriend, his former nurse Crystal. Amara, Roberto,Rhane, and Jamie arrived a few days later, followed by Sam and his sister, Paige.

Then the new ones started arriving, some on their own, some escorted by family members or policemen. Everett Thomas and Monet arrived together in the back of a police van, ten minutes after Logan returned from the airport with Jonothon Starsmore and Angelo Espinoza. The next day a busload of children arrived, whom Rogue didn't even catch the names of, at least not all of them.

It had carried on like this, until finally Charles came to those like the Summers', Piotr,Remy,Kitty and Rogue, and asked them to agree to teach. They still weren't welcome in the schools, and no teachers would agree to come to the Mansion. They all agreed. Soon they were more focused on getting everyone organized and classes started than on what was happening outside the walls.

The dorms were nearly full to capacity, as was the main house. Charles had already contacted the contractors to expand the buildings once more, meanwhile Ororo was now living in the girls' dorms with the new students, and Hank in the Boys'. They had discussed making it Logan, but decided against it. The level of noise would make it impossible for him to sleep. He was having enough trouble in the main house, with the older students and new adults around all the time. All of the Seniors, including Bobby, Jubilee, Sam,Amara, Angelo, and Roberto were in the main house. All but Jubilee and Angelo had agreed to stay on as teachers following this year. Jubilee and Angelo had both decided they were moving on, at least for now. Bobby had agreed that they would need more teachers, and had volunteered to be a scout this summer.

Charles, meanwhile, was in the middle of negotiations with the local government to allow the members of the school to leave the grounds without the ever present weekly armed guard that currently allowed two people to do the grocery shopping. He felt that with the added tensions f so many new students, it was necessary to ask for this extension. He had been gone for the last week, with Ororo temporarily taking over the duties of Headmaster, Logan had gone with him as his driver/bodyguard.

In total they now had seventy-eight students, including Illyana and Paige who were the youngest, both at nine years old. They had the seniors, even those not staying, all helping with lessons as teacher's aides, until Charles returned and the course materials arrived. Meanwhile, until the shipments of materials arrived, and they were more organized, they split the students evenly among them as best they could, and reviewed where they all were in their classes before arriving.

~0~o~0~

Marchers gathered on the steps of the statehouse, holding signs screaming things like "No more mutants!" and "Protect the children!". They were held back, barely, by the National Guardsmen standing in front of them, screaming loudly they shook their signs as Charles Xavier came out to the podium, pushed by his associate and bodyguard, Logan. Beside them stood the Governor Ross,and Senator Kelly, as well as two of the judges who heard the case.

Charles Xavier cleared his throat and spoke calmly, ignoring the hecklers as he informed the world that they had reached an agreement. His students would no longer be confined to the school, instead allowed to go into the city of Bayville, on weekends. His teachers would be allowed to do the shopping as they pleased. In return they agreed to live on the grounds, and not attempt to move back into town. He did not promise that his students would be bound to the school forever, however many assembled on both sides of the debate assumed it was implied.

Then the Governor stepped forward, and assured everyone that the comprise was in the best interest of all citizens. That thanks to these compromises they were that much closer to peace. After him, Kelly stepped forward to assure his supporters that while they had suffered a minor loss that day, they would prevail, and that he was going forward with his push for the mutant registration act on not just previously known mutants,but all of them. He went on to say. "It is proof that our efforts to control this situation are working, in that the Xavier Institute has grown in size. Many of the normal people out there are no longer trying to hide the anomalies in their families, but ridding themselves of them before they can do more damage. We will prevail against them."

The crowd's clapping was cut off as Remy turned off the tv. The staff were all gathered in Ororo's office to watch. "I'll go make the announcement that they will be allowed outings." said Piotr.

"Kelly's insane, and he's getting more and more people to listen to him." Rogue said, Remy hugging her briefly. Jean nodded with a frown as Scott held her hand. Kitty followed her husband from the room. Kurt patted his sister on the shoulder, and Hank stared out the window.

"Kelly was right about one thing. More and more parents are sending their kids everyday. Either because they want to be rid of them or because they're afraid for them." Ororo said. "we need more teachers and caregivers. Bobby has offered to go recruiting this summer, but I think it would be helpful if some others went as well. Not everyone, since most of these children will not be going home, at least not this year."

"We'll go, Jean and I. It may be better to work in teams when possible."

"Logan and I intend to go as well." Ororo said.

"We'll stay here with the children and Charles, right Cher?"

"Yeah, that's for the best this year at least. We're both really close to a breakthrough, but the Professor thinks we need more practice. Kitty and Piotr already said they were staying, because Illyana's just settling in."

"I will go, in search of teachers." Kurt said finally.

"Good. We will then send you all in teams. Jean and Scott, Logan and I, Bobby and Kurt. I want everyone to stay in contact with each other and the school. You never know what could happen."

The meeting broke up then, and Rogue and Remy went in search of Kitty and Piotr to tell them that it was going to be just the four of them left at the school over the summer. Charles would be in meetings all summer, and Hank had already agreed to go with him.

~0~o~0~

Scott was concerned about how his wife was really doing. She was acting like everything was fine, but he knew she wasn't. She was acting 'too okay'. He didn't know how to help her or get past her barriers, and that was the most frustrating part for him. He felt like he was losing her and he had no idea how to stop it.

Charles and Ororo were both telling him to give her time, but it was just the loss, she'd been pulling away from him for months. He tried to explain this, and his growing concern for her safety, but they brushed off his concerns. He was frustrated with them, and the way they felt he was exaggerating the situation. He was emotionally and physically drained, but he hoped their time alone together while on this mission this summer would give him time to work things out, at least in part. They just had to make it through the school year first.

Scott decided to talk to Kitty,Rogue,Piotr and Remy. Perhaps they would have better advice than just waiting it all out. He sought out his friends, who were sitting in the Parlor, working on their lesson plans. All four of them were grateful to push their work away for a few minutes when he came in, Kurt as well, who was also sitting there.

After they all listened to him, they were quiet for a few minutes. Eventually Kitty started, " Scott, she just went through something terrible! She needs you to be supportive not pushy."

"Katya, he too has lost this child, he too need support." Piotr said, ignoring his wife's frown. "They need each other now, not to push each other away."

"Maybe she's upset about her reaction. She lost control twice this year." Kurt said. "She hates the Phoenix, and it scares her."

"It's all of it, I think." Remy said. " Everything adding up together. All we've been through this year, plus all she's been through. She is trying to adjust, but she is pushing you away at the same time. Perhaps she doesn't realize that is what she's doing."

"No. She feels like she's losing her mind. She feels guilty about the baby because part of her didn't want it. She feels like she's a threat to you and us all, and is isolating intentionally so that she doesn't hurt anyone else. The last thing she needs is to let her pull away like this." Rogue said, then frowned at the way everyone else was looking at her. "What? She talks to me. She has to talk to somebody. I told her she should go to Scott with all this and he would understand. Anyway, she's scared that all of us, especially Scott will hate her if they find out what's all going on in her head. She's also afraid that Scott will blame her like she blames herself."

"What did you tell her in return?And why did she talk to you instead of the rest of us?" Scott said. He didn't mean to sound rude, but was hurt that she knew so much more than he did. Jean and Rogue had never really been close, so it didn't make sense to him that she chose to talk to Rogue over him, or maybe Kitty.

"Oh that's easy. We never got along in highschool, so she thought I already hate her and what harm could she do by telling me? No she didn't say that, but I have absorbed her before, I know she thinks I do. As far as what I said to her, I told her it wasn't her fault and to talk to you."

Scott nodded at this, and thanked them all before he changed the subject, and started in on his own work. He needed time to think about the best way to approach her, and he didn't want her to know he had confided in their friends for answers while she was feeling emotionally vulnerable.

~0~o~0~

Robert Kelly was disappointed in how the meetings had turned out, but not deterred. This was simply a small set back as far as he was concerned. Sure, those abominations were allowed out again, but in a way that would help his cause. There were people starting to feel bad for the mutants, locked up in their mansion on the hill (Kelly felt they had it pretty easy in a mansion), now that they were allowed out again, they would remind the people why Kelly pushed to have them locked away in the first place...even if he had to stage it a little like last time.

Kelly was determined to get his Mutant Registration Act passed. He had been starting to worry that he wouldn't be able to get it after they gave Xavier's permission to go into town, then a man came to him with help.

Graydon Creed was a tall, muscular man with sandy brown hair, gray eyes, and a permanent scowl on his face. He arranged the meeting with Kelly as soon as they left the courthouse. As soon as he sat down in Kelly's office, he began without bothering with a greeting. "You want mutants gone, I want mutants gone. I think we can help each other. They are a stain on the history of our species! I am the founder of an organization that has been working tirelessly to rid the world of these...creatures."

"What would you have me do?" Kelly said fearing a set up.

"Exactly what you are doing now. Work on getting that registration passed. Don't worry. I've been watching these creatures for years, they'll give us the ammo we need, we just have to catch it on camera." Kelly sat back, interested. The pair worked the rest of the afternoon on their plans.

~0~o~0~

An exhausted Magneto finally set down the dozen spheres he had carried across the expanse of the Atlantic ocean on the beach of their new home. With relief he released his control of the metal and said to those inside. "Welcome to Genosha, our new home."

He waived his hand inland, where they could see a town jutting out of the hilly land just past the beach. When Wanda turned to question him, he assured her. "The island is completely empty. The humans abandoned it well over two years ago. I bought it at the time. Go. Explore. Pick out your new homes. We'll talk more later, I need to rest."

They set off down the beach, at first in a group, to explore the area. Pietro wore out quickly, he was still recovering, and his new girlfriend, Crystal, insisted that he stop at the first house they came to , to rest at least. They went inside,so she could care for him. Fred and Todd stopped at the next one, deciding it was good enough for the night. Magneto had already gone into the one after that. Wanda followed her father inside. John and Lance chose the one next to that, and finally Tabitha picked the last one on the row for herself. None of them had gone further than the beach, they were all too tired to bother, and decided there would be plenty of time to explore in the days ahead.


	14. Chapter 14

**What is to Come**

Chapter Fourteen

They had a plan laid out for next year, but they had to get through the rest of this year in the mean time. Even being allowed back into town for errands, children were still not allowed in the schools and the supplies had been ordered but had not yet arrived. The easiest solution was to sign the children up for on line courses. This would give the new adults a chance to prepare. No one really thought Jean was up to teaching anything right now, no matter how 'okay' she insisted she was. On top of this, Charles wanted Jean and Scott to try to finish the degrees they started before all of the trouble began.

Remy and Rogue were also still working on their control issues. They spent every morning helping the younger kids where it was needed, the afternoon with Charles working on their powers. They were making steady progress. After that, Rogue would help Logan with the vehicle maintenance while Remy helped whoever was assigned to make dinner. They still hadn't managed to find the time to arrange their picnic, however their relationship seemed to be shifting anyway They themselves didn't seem to notice but the others did.

The main reason they hadn't officially gone out was they spent nearly every evening with Jean and Scott. Usually the four of them would sit together in the parlor watching movies or playing cards. They never talked about Jean's "Incident" or what caused it. Scott had tried to talk to Jean about it, but she still refused to talk to him about it. He worried about this, but at least she was talking to someone.

Jean still was talking to Rogue in addition to talking to Charles and Ororo. It still hurt his feelings that she wasn't talking to him but he was talking to Remy and Charles. Over all the four of them had become very good friends. Despite their own problems, Jean and Scott were working together to convince Remy and Rogue to take a break long enough to actually go out.

Jean was working on Rogue, trying to talk the other girl into it by assuring her that she (Rogue) deserved time off from everything. Rogue for her part was equal parts nervous about changing her relationship with Remy and guilt over being so happy herself when everything else was so chaotic.

Scott was trying to talk Remy into asking Rogue out to the movies or dinner. Remy's only response was that they had agreed to a picnic, he just needed time to work it out. The truth (which he wouldn't admit to to anyone) was that he still didn't like going out since they had no idea where Sinister was.

Kitty and Piotr spent most of their evenings with his little sister, though occasionally they joined the others in the parlor, as did Kurt when he wasn't busy talking to Amanda on the phone in his room. Kurt wasn't allowed to visit her very often thanks to the restrictions still set on the mansion's inhabitants but that didn't stop them from talking to each other nearly all evening.

Logan, for his part, was doing his best to hide his restlessness from the rest of the mansion. He wanted nothing more than to go back out in search of Sinister but he had to stay here to help teach and protect the kids of the mansion. It was driving him crazy. He felt caged in and helpless which in turn was making him short tempered. The only ones who really wanted to spend any amount of time with him at the moment were Rogue, Kitty, and Ororo. Even Charles was avoiding his company at the moment. Though that was mainly due to the negative feedback from Logan and Charles' own full schedule. Charles knew however, that it wouldn't be long before Logan couldn't take anymore waiting and simply wandered off on his own in search of the enemy.

In short, things at the mansion were tense that spring, though they all tried to keep it from the children even as the outside world seemed to be closing in around them. The protesters had returned to the gates, and were always there to press up to any car that dared leave the grounds.

Two of the newer kids, Angelo and Everett, had offered to go into town one day to pick up some supplies, mostly for an excuse to leave the grounds. Charles reluctantly agreed, provided they take an adult with them. Hank reluctantly joined them temporarily abandoning his lab.

They had just finished in the grocery store and were loading the van when they were approached by a group of five boys about their own age. Everett realized right away the boys were looking for trouble, but Angelo failed to notice them at all, until the ringleader stepped into his path from the cart to the van.

"Why don't you freaks shop somewhere else. You're just going to poison the food in there so normal people can't eat it." the strange boy said.

"That is the most absurd thing I've ever heard! Where'd you get an idea like that?" Angelo said in response, kind of shocked at the statement. "We aren't position and even if we were why would we want to harm our own food source."

"Oh please. Everyone knows you freaks don't actually need any of this, you just come in here to bother us!" said a second boy. By now Everett was watching carefully as he slipped the last of the bags in the van and Hank had climbed from the driver's seat to try to difuse the situation before it got to bad.

"Excuse me lads, but it seems to me that you have been misinformed. We are human. Just as you are, we simply have been given a gift that makes some of us look different."

"Everyone knows you all are trying to take over the world and are just trying to get rid of us!" said a third boy. Fear was evident on his face though if it was because he didn't want to be here or if it was the 'truth' he was quoting that bothered him none of them could say.

"Where did you here such nonsense from?" Hank asked still trying to br polite.

"From school, and our parents, it's in all the pamphlets. Don't bother trying to deny it, we know the truth so why don't you freaks get outta here before we make you leave." said the first boy. Hank shook his head sadly at the boys. This would only get worse as time went on if they couldn't find a way to stop it, but for now the most important thing was to get Everett and Angelo home, so Hank agreed to leave while denying once more that they intended to harm anyone and they made their way back to the mansion.

~O~0~O~

Being idle in anyway went against Pietro's nature. This is what he was thinking about as he watched the others on the beach with his father and Crystal by his side. Wanda had joined them for awhile, but was now back in her house making lists of things that needed to be done, the others were taking a much needed break to relax in the sand and sun.

Pietro was frustrated with his recovery. He was healing well, but he lacked his usual energy, spending most of his time at the moment either working on recovery with Crystal or sitting in his father's office with Magneto and Wanda going over the ever growing lists of things that needed to be done to make their new home work.

He understood that all of this was important, but it didn't stop his frustration at his own limitations. Before his coma, he could have not only finished the list of supplies himself but he could have gotten started on any number of other items that they had outlined, instead he was stuck as an observer.

The worst part for him was that he was already feeling tired again, and all he had done was walk down here from his new home. Crysral assured him it was all part of his recovery and that he would be back to normal soon, but it didn't really help, especially as he watched Wanda take over more and more of his roles in the group. He tried not to feel jealous of his sister, after all he'd felt terribly guilty about having left her behind during her own illness and had spent years wondering what he could possibly do to make it up to her, but he never imagined making it up to her would mean losing his own place among them.

This thought, which just came to him, made him realize that he was feeling jealous of his sister and being unfair to her. A stab of guilt over his selfishness passed through him before he turned to Crystal and his father and repeated these thoughts out loud.

Crystal responded first, before his father could react. "I've told you before Pi, It's perfectly normal to feel these things. You've been through a major trauma and are just now beginning to recover. It's natural to feel overwhelmed and frustrated at the situation. I know that it's easy to become discouraged but I will keep reminding you how far you've come until you can see it for yourself."

"Wanda has found her place, finally." Erik added in a kind tone that he was attempting to use with his children more often. "For many years she felt like an outsider and is only just now starting to come out of her shell. She will never take your place though Pietro. I assure you never will either of you replace the other. I am truly sorry that my earlier behavior has driven you to feel this way in any form or that either of you ever felt that you didn't matter to me because you both have always mattered."

Pietro stared at his father, still not use to this new version of Magneto. A man who admitted he'd messed up while the twins were young and that he had failed them. Only asking now for a chance to do things right for them now and in the future. Neither Pietro nor Wanda fully trusted this change of heart but they were willing to give it a try, after all the truth was all either of them every really wanted was their father's love and approval.

Magneto, however, was not used to heart-felt conversations and quickly made his excuses to leave feeling rather exposed having had this conversation in view of his son's...nurse? friend? Girlfriend? He still hadn't actually figured that part out.

He left rather quickly, intent on getting back to work, there was still much that needed to be done if he was to fulfill his plan to make Genosha a self sustaining sanctuary for mutants everywhere.

~O~0~O~

Kelly's New York office was much quieter and more secluded than his Washington office, which is why it was chosen for this meeting. He ran the office from his home retaining only the minimum staff to keep things going while he was away.

No one was there at his home-office at the moment as he had given the housekeeper the evening off. Shortly after the maid had left Kelly looked up from some paperwork to find Creed and the 'Shadowed man' waiting for him to begin. He managed to keep (barley) his composer as he set aside his paperwork.

"You did well so far Robert. Now's the time to start on the next stage of the plan. Soon they will bow to me and all of this will be a distant memory. " The man in shadows assured. He was pleased himself, everything was going according to plan. Just a few more buttons to push just the right way and he will have won.

The biggest by far thing to worry about was the X-Men, they did tend to interfere with plans. For now however, he was content to allow Kelly the belief that he had some say in what happens Kelly would be in for a very rude wake-up call when he realized they had painted right into a corner of which there was no mistake.

Creed for his part in this meeting just sat quietly. Some may find him an incredible hypocrite associating with the likes of Sinister who clearly is the active (at the moment) leader behind these plans. Creed didn't like it though and he didn't trust Sinister who was clearly strange even if he was a mutant himself which Creed assumed he was after reading a bit of Kelly files on mutants. He was a little surprised in fact that Kelly was so trusting of the mutant considering how he felt about it.

.

Kelly for his part was as unhappy as Creed about this man being their main benefactor and intended to change that as soon as possible. Not that he thought he could get away with that and live to tell the tale.


	15. Chapter 15

**What is to Come**

Chapter Fiveteen

As soon as the school year was over, the Summers, Bobby, Kurt, Ororo and Logan departed. Jubilee and Angelo were supposed to leave the next week,however Charles asked them to stay another week or two to help Remy and Rogue establish the summer program which they reluctantly agreed to do.

As for the rest of the students and staff, they were limited on options. Charles had managed to get permission for a handful of people to go out in search of more teachers and students, but the new regulations remained trapping the majority on the campus.

To avoid tension and unnecessarily stress, Remy and Rogue had been tasked with designing some form of summer program for the student body. Hank would help them, of course, in the actual daily care of all of their charges. In addition to the added work load, Charles still had the pair working together on power control exercises.

Remy and Rogue found themselves locked in the library, attempting to ignore the sounds of the children and Jubilee (who was trying to get them downstairs) running by as they formed the summer schedule. "This is all pointless anyway. "Remy said with a sigh while he copied down the notes they had made the night before in a meeting with Xavier into legible and meaningful sentences. "Y'know they'll still feel pent up. This whole 'keep 'em busy plan is just going to make 'em resent being stuck here even more."

"You know that and I know that, but we aren't that much older than them. So we just gotta come up with something fun that will actually work." Rogue said, as she took the finished notes from his pile and tried to organize them into a workable lesson plan.

"I spent my teen years with people trying t' keep me busy so I stayed out of trouble, and look how that turned out. We'd be better off just letting them do their own thing over the summer."

"Not really. Left to their own devices they'd come up with stupid dangerous ideas like sneaking into town or dirt biking in the gorge or something. I spent a lot of time the same way, and trust me, on the rare occasion I was left to do my own thing it always went bad. These kids are all stressed out and upset enough by what's going on outside the walls. We owe it to them to try to give them normal inside them."

"I suppose you're right. I caused plenty of trouble myself. I just hate to think about the fact that they are stuck here. For better or worse, they have no choice to be here for the foreseeable future. I'm shocked Jubilee and Angelo managed to get away."

"I agree." Rogue said. "You need to remember to stay calm though. You're still working on learning control again, and every time you get stressed like now, You manage to light up the room without realizing it."

Remy guiltily pulled back the charge that had managed to leak into the pen he was holding. The truth was he was afraid of being around this many people with his powers acting the way they were. He was as trapped as the students however, and resented it as much as he knew the youngsters did. With any luck, Xavier would be able get get trough to the state congress over this being a violation of their rights. No one could even go out, most of the time. Adult or child.

Rogue realized Remy was brooding again. With extreme effort she managed not to roll her eyes at him; after all he wanted nothing to do with the world beyond their walls all the way up to the point that he had no choice but to stay inside. On one hand she understood how he felt, she was starting to feel rather trapped herself, on the other hand even without these new laws Remy would be staying home. They still had no leads on Sinister, but everyone including Remy (especially Remy) was afraid of what would happen if Sinister captured him again.

Before she could think of a good response that may drag him from his mood one of the new kids, a young girl named Ruth, came in to inform them that Xavier was waiting for them for their weekly meeting. With a sigh neither of them bothered to suppress they gathered their work and headed off to the Professor's office.

Rogue knew the Professor had by now seen their plans, but she was grateful that despite the occasional from when he spotted them pouring over blueprints, the Professor had said nothing about it. Not that there was anything to talk about. It seemed to help Remy sleep better to go over the building plans of the lab he had been held captive all those months ago, so whenever he was feeling really wound up, they'd pull them out and he would once again go over his escape to see if there was anything he missed. Rogue had been invited along to this activity more because he thought a second set of eyes might see something than a ploy to spend time with her, even though she originally thought otherwise. They were dating now, though it was still on an unofficial date by date status, yet he continued to include her, so she believed him on the subject.

The reason behind the pair's reluctance was simple however. They were simply tired of spending an hour of their day sitting perfectly still while the Professor looked through Rogue's mind and suggesting they continue to meditate. This was overall good advice, and truthfully, Rogue was now up to ninety seconds as far as how long she could turn off her powers, Remy was making less progress but was still making some in that he was now able to tell if he was about to have a slip even if he couldn't prevent it yet. In short they were both frustrated with the progress. As soon as they came in Charles recognized their mood, and suggested they take the day off instead of having a seat. They were both grateful, and instead of returning to their work in the library they decided instead to take a walk around the grounds, taking the afternoon off from all work.

~0~O~0~

Jean and Scott arrived in Washington, their first stop in the list they'd gathered of possible teaching recruits, to speak to an old friend of the Professor's a man named Dr. Micheal Hereon. Unfortunately, the man couldn't see them today, but agreed to meet them the next morning. The couple then checked into a hotel for the night, and Scott suggested they eat in. He was hoping that this trip would give them a chance to repair their relationship, and the first step to that he felt was to somehow figure out a way to tear down the wall he had constructed between them. He thought he may need Jean's help with that,and planned to talk to her about it tonight. It might take weeks, but they had the rest of their lives, as long as she was willing to let him in again.

He knew he'd hurt her as deeply as she'd hurt him, and now it was time to begin healing if they were going to manage to save what they'd had. She'd been avoiding any personal conversations with him for a while now, and he knew (partly thanks to Rogue) that it was mostly because she just didn't want to talk about the baby. It was still too painful for her. The thing of it was though, the baby hadn't been the only wedge between them, or even the biggest. He wanted to assure her that he wasn't really ready to talk about it either, but even that may be too much said.

After Jean took a shower, and dinner had arrived, Scott finally gathered his thoughts into what he wanted to say in a simple prepared speech. As long as she was willing to listen to him. " Jean. I love you so much, but over the last few months we've both managed to hurt each other so deeply that I fear we will always be scared by it. But the thing is, scars heal. They fade. As long as you let them and help them to heal. I want to get rid of this wall between us, I need your help to do that. I want us to have a chance. That is if that's what you want. I meant it, everything I said when I asked you to be my wife. I want us to make us work, I want to spend the rest of our lives together."

"I want that too."Jean said, tearfully. " I don't know that we can ever go back to the way we were, but we have to try. We can't just keep going like this. I'll do everything I can to help us get past this, but we got to work together. The wall is never going to come down if we don't forgive each other. I'm truly sorry for everything I said that night Scott. I never really meant it, I was just so scared. Scared of my powers, scared of the way the world seems to see us, scared I was going to hurt you. Then I ended up hurting you anyway, and the world turned on us, and I really did loose control again, and I realized something important. The reason I can get through all this, the reason I want to keep fighting it, is you. I love you. For better or for worse, we're in this together, and that's how it should be for us."

They both knew that this was just the first step in the journey of healing their relationship, but they had finally made this first step in the right direction. There would be bumps along the way, they would fight again in the future they knew it, but for today they were okay. And they were finally starting to heal. If that was the only thing they managed to accomplish this summer, then maybe this whole trip would be worth it.

~0~O~0~

Kurt and Bobby arrived in Boston around the same time as Jean and Scott arrived in Washington, having left several hours later. Their first assigned potential member was Warren Worthington III. He had been in Boston,now leading his father's corporate office there, for the last few months. Though they had tried to recruit him before without success, they were hopeful the recent change in events would convince him it was a good idea.

As soon as they checked into their room Bobby called Worthington offices and made an appointment with Warren for the next morning. Luckily he recognized the name 'Xavier' still, and was curious enough to make a few minutes for them in between meetings.

While they waited for morning, they went over the rest of their list and discussed the best way to convince Warren of the need to return home with them. So far Warren had managed to keep his mutation secret despite the large white wings that grew from his shoulder blades earning him the code name "Angel". If he agreed to join them, they knew there was no going back. Bobby felt their chances of convincing Warren to give up his entire life and career to teach a bunch of kids in an overcrowded,understaffed school of permanent lock down weren't great. Close to none really.

With this depressing thought on his mind Bobby left Kurt to his phone call, Kurt was talking to his long time girlfriend Amanda as he did everyday now that they weren't allowed to meet up anymore. Bobby made his way to a nearby bar and grill with the intent of grabbing something to eat. He'd just sat down to order when he heard. "May I join you?" from a young woman with blonde hair, dressed entirely in white. Her suit was formfitting but not immodest, though she seemed slightly uncomfortable in it.

"Um, sure." Bobby said, as the woman slid into the seat across from him before he could finish talking.

"Emma Frost." The woman replied before he could ask.

"Bobby-Robert Drake." Bobby said.

"I know. I also know that I'm on that list of yours that Charles provided. Either second or third. I've come to inform you that I accept the offer."

"Are you sure? I mean I haven't even gotten a chance to explain anything."

"Darling, I'm a physic. I already know the offer. I'm accepting." Emma said.

Bobby nodded, then explained that they would all be staying at the hotel for the next few weeks while he and Kurt went through the rest of the list before returning together. Truthfully Bobby was just relieved he's managed one recruit. Though he wondered why she'd searched him out instead of waiting for them to come to her, he decided to worry about it later. After all with the way things were for mutants these days it was likely she just didn't have a lot of options at the moment.


	16. Chapter 16

**What is to Come**

Chapter Sixteen

Jeremy Lewison was sixteen years old. He lived in Manhattan New York with his mother,younger sister, and grandmother. He had emerald green eyes and almost white blond hair like his mother and sister. He also had dark blue skin like his father. A father who had been missing from his life for the last six years ever since his little sister was born. His skin was the problem, as far as he was concerned.

His skin was the reason he'd been bullied at school until his mom finally removed him. His skin was the reason (as far as he was concerned,no matter what his mom said) that his father lift. His skin was the reason he was in the situation he found himself in early on a Saturday morning in early June.

Jeremy agreed to take his little sister to the corner market to buy breakfast because she complained loudly that he never went anywhere with her. They had just exited the market, Jeremy wearing a baseball cap and long sleeves to hide his appearance, when they were approached by a group of three men. Scared, Jeremy pushed his little sister behind him.

"It's okay Chloe. If I tell you to run, I need you to run right back into the store okay?" he whispered as the men surrounded them. Chloe sniffled but nodded as the first man sneered.

"We don't want your kind here. Look at all the shit you caused up in Bayville!" The man said as he pushed Jeremy.

"I didn't have anything to do with that." Jeremy said, trying to keep the fear from his voice. "I don't have any powers I just look different."

"Sure, I'm sure that's what they tell all you little freaks to get away with it." said the second man, as he pushed Jeremy as well.

"I bet she's just a little freak in training." said the third man. At this Jeremy told her to run, and then pushed the third man back.

Chloe made it back inside the store and ran up to the grocer who had known them all her life to beg for in turn called the police and their mother. He then went outside to try to help the boy.

By the time the grocer, Mr Keller, made it outside Jeremy was bleeding and bruised from the beating the three men preformed and a crowd was forming. When Mr. Keller pushed through the crowd to try to break up the fight, he was hit with a rock by one of the on lookers stunning him momentarily.

A strong emotional response is the common factor in triggering powers, Jeremy had spent years trying to deny what he was to himself and other. Until now he had succeeded, but seeing the one person outside his family who was ever nice to him bleeding on the sidewalk just for trying to help him was a tipping point in his denial. As sirens grew louder, Jeremy's powers finally manifested in the form of powerful jets of water rushing from his hands in the direction of his attackers.

Unfortunately for Jeremy,his powers were to new and he knew to little about them to be of any help when the first man drew a gun. The crowd was running as the police arrived, all three attackers blending into the throng.

Jeremy Lewison was the first victim of the Friends of Humanity that summer, but he wouldn't be the last. He would be remembered as both a victim and a monster in the coming fighting. He was the tipping point of a final agreement that would change the lives of mutant everywhere,not just those who were already known to be involved in previous events. In the end Jeremy Lewison would be who they pointed to when they talked about registering ALL mutants, both those who sought to destroy them, and those who sought to protect them.

~0~O~0~

Bobby and Kurt left Emma watching tv in their suite as they went to go talk to Warren the morning after she recruited herself. Bobby hadn't actually told Kurt about that yet, after all she had been on their list, and Kurt was worried they would fail at this. Why bother telling him that she's come to them when it gave Kurt a boost of confidence that they had one the first day.

Warren met them in his office as soon as he arrived for the day. He invited them in warmly, though jokingly admitted to being a little disappointed that Charles hadn't sent Scott or Rogue who he had previous dealings. Bobby shrugged this off, and mentioned them being in the middle of other important projects. Kurt was a little embarrassed and let down by this, until Bobby decided to point out that Kurt was Rogue's brother.

This interested Warren, though neither boy felt the need to explain the complicated history of Kurt being the abandoned natural child of his sort-of sister's adoptive mother. They hadn't grown up together but they claimed to be siblings, and watched out for each other.

Warren listened to their proposal carefully. Then said. "I'm not saying no guys, but I'm not saying yes either. I need to think about this, it's a big decision and one I can't make lightly, or by myself. I need to consult with my fiance as well."

"Fiance?" Bobby asked. Charles hadn't mentioned this, but perhaps he didn't know.

"Yes, Betsy. Elizabeth Braddock. She's a mutant too, and this would likely affect her as well, if I choose to do it." said Warren. "And not just because I would be changing careers and moving."

"Ah. Elizabeth Braddock?" Kurt said, as he pulled out his folder. "She's on our list too. We made an appointment to see her tomorrow afternoon actually."

Warren laughed briefly before telling them that he would let them know after he talked it over with Elizabeth again. The two soon left,trying to feel positive but not really sure. They got back to the room just in time to see the news report about the boy who had been murdered the day before in New York.

~0~O~0~

With nearly everyone away, and the school year over, Remy finally had the chance to get his picnic with Rogue. Their date had been planned and broken a couple of times of the last few months, but something got in the way usually before he could even finish officially asking her to join him.

With this in mind, he decided to set up the picnic and surprise her with it. The first step,however, was to make sure their picnic date wasn't interrupted by any stray students or emergencies or interfering friends. With this in mind he went to the Professor and explained that he wanted to take Rogue out. Charles smiled in his knowing way as he agreed to keep everyone busy for and hour or two so that the pair could have the afternoon to themselves.

While Remy got to work making their lunch, Charles enlisted Kitty and Pete to help keeping the kids occupied and in the house. This required Kitty modifying a danger room sim into a fun game. Luckily, Kitty had already began writing the program awhile ago but hadn't figured out the best way to approach The Professor and Logan about a 'fun' program; something the Professor was well aware of and mildly amused by so he decided this would help both Remy and Kitty.

With the kids safely and happily occupied and the picnic set and waiting, Remy went in search of Rogue. He found her locked away in the library working (as usual) on the next year's lesson plans. Jubilee was with her,looking frustrated as she helped Rogue arrange all the paperwork.

"Jubes. I'm stealing Rogue for a couple of hours, Kitty just made a new game for the kids down in the danger room. A fun one, something about Pirates. You should join her."

"Okay, so why are you stealing me away for a couple of hours instead of us joining the others playing pirates? You love pirates!" Rogue said after Jubilee left the room in a hurry.

"Because, we planned this months ago, and we finally have the chance to do it." Remy said.

"Do what? What are you on about Remy?"

"A picnic, I arranged a picnic for us, and made sure everyone else was busy." Remy said.

Rogue agreed suddenly remembering her promise from a few months they had been on a few dates now, to be fair this would be their first date without another couple there to 'help watch for trouble'. The only reason, she knew, that Remy was at all comfortable with this was that they were still with in the fences of the Institute.

He led her downstairs and out to the treeline where he had laid out a blanket and had left the basket. Rogue smiled at the sight, he'd clearly out a lot of thought into this. They sat in the shade of a large oak as Remy served fried chicken and potato wedges. He had intentionally made only finger foods since it was just the two of them because she would be able to eat them easily (and safely) without her gloves.

The fact that he'd thought of this made her happy as well. Though she was getting much better at her control she was still nervous going without gloves in crowds including in the house. They were having a pleasant afternoon, just the two of them as they ate and talked.

Remy served desert, double fudge brownies, and strawberries. He decided now was a good time to ask her what he'd been wanting to talk to her about for months. "Rogue, I know you promised just one date, but we've spent so much time together over this year and learned so much about each other. You're already my best friend, but what I really want, what I would like more than anything, is if you would agree to be my girlfriend. I don't know what the future holds for us, but I'm willing to find out."

Rogue nodded happily. She was very excited, she agreed they didn't know what the future held, especially with everything going on in the world right now, but for once she wasn't worrying about it. He leaned forward and kissed her gently, this was a perfect moment.

Of course, they didn't usually have perfect moments, and this was no exception. As Remy stood to begin cleaning up the remains of their lunch, an explosion rocked the front the front gate. Remy sighed heavily. Of course something had to interrupt. Rogue felt the same way about it as Charles contacted her to inform her that a protester had decided it was a good idea to throw a gas filled bottle at the gate.

They were joined by Jubilee, Kitty, and Piotr as they made their way around front to see how bad the damage was. The police were already trying to clear the crowd away and the fire department was on it's way. The man who had thrown the bottle was in the back of a police car, seemingly unconcerned by his arrest. None of them were in uniform (of course) not expecting something like this today. Remy was wearing a tank top and shorts, Rogue a light long sleeved T-shirt and jeans, Jubilee and Kitty both wearing sundresses because of the heat.

None of them looked the least bit threatening in other words, however, as soon as the approached the gate to talk to the police there were screams and jeers from the crowd about the dangers of mutants in general. They decided to ignore these jeers something that had gotten easier over the last few months, and were calmly talking to the police officers when a second man broke from the crowd to throw another bottle.

Remy saw it coming and knocked both Rogue and the police officer to the ground as Kitty phased herself,Pete and Jubilee. The man was tackled and thrown into the back of a police car, and no further trouble came from the crowd.

It seemed to easy to them all. The protesters never just backed back down like that, but they were all just grateful no one had been hurt this time and that the police had manged to get it back under control. It wasn't until they had finished filling out paperwork with the police and came back into the house that they had any idea what the group had been up to that had decided to cause trouble today.

The news was playing a highly edited version of the second attack sent to them by 'an anonymous source' that made it appear Remy had attacked the officer (and Rogue) for no reason. Remy was pacing around the room cursing in both English and French as they listened to the talk about how it was further 'proof' that mutants were dangerous. He didn't think there was a way he could get more angry than he felt at that moment, until they used the second video they had been sent to 'prove' the danger.

Remy slowly sank into a chair next to Rogue as they watched the video of Jeremy Lewison. He took her hand without word. No matter what happened next, he knew (as they all did) things had just gotten much worse.


	17. Chapter 17

**What is to Come**

Chapter Seventeen

It had been a long summer for them all. Rogue had finally had a real break through with her power control, and was declared 'in control' by Charles, who assured her that even if she had occasional slips, she had mastered it. She celebrated by buying her first swimsuit. A one piece, modest cut suit, that made her nervous unless everyone else was out of the pool, except Remy who was immune to her powers. Remy was doing just as well, he seemed to have stabilized on his power growth for now. He hadn't accidentally blown anything up since the last day of school, and that was only an eraser.

Jean and Scott had returned last week, with his brother Alex, and a girl named Lorna who was dating Alex. They had worked out whatever was going on between them while they were on their own, and were back to normal, to everyone's relief. They had made plans with Rogue to take her and Remy out tonight to celebrate their power control, before they all had to start teaching the day after tomorrow.

Bobby had returned with Emma Frost. He hadn't said anything, but it was obvious to the rest of them that he and Emma had grown close over the summer. It wasn't a shock to any of them, when he confessed that they were dating. Kurt arrived separately with Warren and Elizabeth Braddock.

Logan and Ororo arrived together,but without any new members. Their trip was the least successful,however they didn't seemed concerned about it leading several of the others to speculate that their mission had been different than the others.

The real reason it had been a long summer, however, wasn't their successes, or even the larger number of children staying than usual. It was the growing crowd of protesters outside the gates. Despite their best efforts, and those of the police, the group kept kept coming. They held up their signs, screamed at the kids arriving, and threw things at them. That was bad enough. Worse still was the frequent 'encounters' in town, all of which seemed to happen conveniently around cameras.

They had cornered Hank in the coffee shop, then claimed on the news he'd attacked the staff in a fit of rage, started a fist fight with Everett Thomas and Jonothon Starsmore, then claimed they attacked unprovoked, nearly kidnapped Paige Guthrie and Rhane Sinclair, with the same effect. It had been going on all summer but with increasing intervals the last few days.

It was because of this that Charles and Ororo protested when Scott and Remy informed them that they intended to take Jean and Rogue out to dinner. Kitty and Piotr offered to go as well, which did nothing to calm Charles concerns, but he did concede that they were all adults, and well trained, and he could not really stop them from going.

~0~o~0~

Having nearly all of the adults, and half the students busy that evening, it was no wonder that no one answered the phone when Kitty called the first, or second time. It wasn't until much later that anyone thought to check the messages, and by then it was all over. Logan and Ororo were on their way back to the mansion when they saw Scott's car crumpled against the tree.

Logan slammed on his breaks and Ororo was out the door before he could unhook the belt she insisted he use. Logan rushed to join her, but grabbed her arm holding her back before she reached the car. He could smell Sabretooth and blood from here, so insisted on going first.

He approached with caution, half-expecting to be ambushed, but no one was around. Kitty was in the backseat, a cut on her forehead and her arm clearly broken. Piotr was ten feet from the tree, in a slight indentation that suggested he had flown through the windshield at great speed. Piotr and Kitty were passed out. The other four weren't in or around the car at all.

Ororo called the mansion while Logan looked over the couple to see if they were injured elsewhere. After Ororo assured him Hank was on the way with a few of the teachers, Logan went after the scent Sabretooth left behind.

Hank, Bobby, Emma, Sam, Amara, and Kurt arrived less than five minutes after Logan left. They were able to carefully move Kitty and Piotr into the back of the van before Bobby called the police and reported what had happened, including them taking the victims to their facilities(which was not unusual). They headed back toward the mansion, Ororo driving Logan's car with Amara and Kurt.

~0~o~0~

Kitty awoke as Hank was setting her arm, Piotr by her side. He had already told them what her knew, but she insisted on telling them what happened as well. They had been on their way home after dinner. Suddenly, Sabretooth had appeared in the center of the road. Remy had told them not to stop, and that he wouldn't be alone, but Scott had slammed on his breaks.

Kitty had called the school for help, while two over sized men yanked open the doors, and pulled Jean and Rogue out of the passenger side. Remy and Scott had been trapped by a third man, who held their doors closed. Piotr followed the girls, and tried to fight the men, while Kitty phased the car. She had to make it solid again though to attempt the second call, which was when Remy and Scott jumped out of the car and joined the fight. One of them, she wasn't sure which one, threw Piotr through the open passenger door, and he landed in the driver's seat. So he had hit the gas, and drove straight into Sabretooth, throwing himself through the windshield. She wasn't sure what happened after that, but she thought they might have picked up the car. Piotr was as confused, he had knocked himself out going through the glass, so they had no idea what happened to the other four.

Logan returned to the mansion around dawn, having lost the scent. He was able to confirm however that the others were together until that point, along with Sabretooth and some new people he didn't know. He was also able to confirm that at least one of them was injured. He suspected Sinister, since they just vanished.

Charles then ordered Everyone but Logan, Hank, Kitty, and Piotr upstairs to start their classes. When Sam and Amara started to protest, he said. "We are a school, we have a responsibility to our students to teach them, even in times of adversity, and we are short four teachers, eight really. I shall ask Ms Lee and Mr. Espinoza to delay their departure for a few days, excuse me."

Charles was able to find Jubilee and Angelo just as they were heading out of the front door. He explained that he would like them to stay a little longer, until at least Kitty and Piotr had recovered, but Jubilee just shook her head. "I'm sorry Professor, but I've already changed my plans six times this summer. Something's always going to be in the way of going. My parents are waiting for us, and it was a lot of work, I mean A LOT of work to get special permission to attend University with my known mutant status, Angelo too. If I put it off, I lose my place."

Charles nodded. "Perhaps if I were to call them and explain-"

"No Professor. I want to do this, I need to. I know we are facing terrible things, which is why I need to do it now. I'm sorry about Rogue,Cyclops,Gambit and Jean. I'm sure you guys will find them soon."

Charles nodded again, disappointed, as Jubilee and Angelo walked out of the door to meet their shuttle to the airport. He had known it was a long-shot asking them to stay. Jubilee and Angelo had already stayed far longer than they intended, as she had pointed out. She was right too, in that there was never going to be a good time to go, the way things were now.

Another idea occurred to him on his way back to his study, and he spend up, intent on calling Erik. He was short four teachers and X-men. They had been kidnapped, he was going to need help both caring for the children and searching for them.

~0~o~0~

Everyone had gathered in the living room of Magneto's house- which was the biggest on the island- to hear what emergency had arisen now. Pietro and Crystal were the last to arrive, he had insisted on walking up to the house instead of using the wheel chair, but he was still moving slow. This was extremely frustrating for him since he had never been slow that he could remember.

Wanda and John arrived together just before Pierto and Crystal,Todd, Lance, and Fred were already there, giving a report on their progress in gathering an inventory of the island. Tabitha arrived just after Wanda and John but no one asked where she had been.

"Xavier called a few minutes ago, asking us to help him. I told him no. However, after he finished explaining that four of his people have been kidnapped, I told him that I would allow all of you to decide for yourselves if you want to help him. I still feel we should not go, but it is up to all of you."

"Who was taken?" John asked, having spent several weeks with them, he was closer to them than some in the group.

"Rogue,Cyclops,Jean, and Gambit. Apparently Shadowcat and Colossus were also attacked. I admit it is concerning that someone was able to overpower Gambit and Colossus, they worked for me for well over a year and I know they are excellent fighters. Which just adds to my concern for you if you get involved. Pietro, no matter how the others vote, you will be staying here with me."

Pietro frowned at this, once again cursing his injuries, and not quietly, as he struggled to his feet to leave. As he walked out of the door he turned to his sister. "Rogue is a great person, she was on our team for awhile. I can't help her, so you need to for me, please."

Crystal silently followed him out as Todd and Fred both said they weren't going anywhere, and Wanda, John and Lance all said they would go. Tabitha remained silent the longest, before stating that she was going to stay on the island, but to call if they needed her help.

That evening, Magneto would reluctantly carry them back to the mainland, and book them a flight back to the United States. It would be a long flight, Genosha was off the coast of Southern Africa. Wanda,John, and Lance all went to pack their bags and get ready for the trip, while Erik returned to his office to call Xavier back.

As they waited for their plane, John sat with Wanda on his left and Lance on his right. It was the only real way to keep him calm without a lighter or laptop. "So your father's acting weird." Lance said eventually.

"I think he's still shook up about Pietro. He's be back to his normal, who-gives-a-crap self eventually. Probably by the time we come back." Wanda said, with a sigh. She wasn't sure which was worse, the father that would lock her away or the one who was overly concerned. She wished he would find a middle ground on parental devotion.

Their plane was announced before either of the men could say anything and the stood to head to the line. John continued to fidget as Lance rolled his eyes and Wanda frowned. John was her main concern at the moment, she wasn't sure he could sit still for the twenty hour flight ahead of them.

He had been unable to bring his laptop with him, fearful of the magnetic field her father used to carry them to the mainland. However, he had saved his work to an online source that he could retrieve when he arrived. That left the travel time the problem. John could not sit idle, it seemed to make him crazy to try. She had attempted to talk him into a card game as soon as they were boarded, but he decided to try to nap instead. She sighed, and hoped he wasn't going to keep her up all night later.


	18. Chapter 18

_What is to Come_

Chapter Eighteen

It had been three days since the last time he had slept, two since he'd eaten anything, so Logan pulled off the road when he saw the sign for a motel/cafe off the highway. He intended to grab something to eat, sleep for an hour or two, call Charles, and be back on the road by sunrise. If not for the need to call Charles and check on the progress at home, he wouldn't have been able to talk himself into taking a break.

He had been on the road for the last two weeks. Four of 'his kids' were missing and he took it as a personal insult that he had so far been unable to find them, or any trace of them. He walked into the empty cafe, shaking rain droplets out of his hair, and sat at the nearest booth. A weary-looking waitress, with a thin face, limp hair, and dark circles under her eyes came over. Logan felt a brief twinge of guilt at the puddles he'd left on the floor, as she cast a smile at him.

"Sorry bout that, raining buckets again." Logan said, as he pulled a couple of photos out of the inside of his jacket. "I know it's a long-shot but have you seen any of these kids?"

"Oh, it's no problem, been raining all day." The waitress dismissed, before looking at the photos. " I'm sorry, I don't think I have, but I was off yesterday, do you want me to ask the cook? He was here."

"Yeah, thanks." Logan said, handing over his picture along with an order for a special and coffee. He felt it was a long shot to ask anyway. Though he doubted they would wander into a random store and not call home, Logan had asked everywhere he stopped if anyone had seen them.

The waitress returned a few minutes later, with his soup and coffee, as well as the photos. She told him that the cook hadn't seen them either. He thanked her and turned to his meal, eating as quickly as possible without raising questions.

After he's paid the bill, and left a generous tip, he walked across the rain soaked parking lot toward the motel. The rain would make it impossible for him to track them tonight, even if he had found a trial. He then walked into a comfortable, but terribly decorated motel room, and sank into a lime green armchair to call Charles.

He had seen so many rooms over the last few years, before he met Charles and after when he was on missions or time off, that the green carpet, pink wallpaper, orange bedspread, and lime green chairs wouldn't have phased him even if he hadn't been distracted. The room was warm, and clean. That was more than enough for him.

After talking to Charles, who had no new news, Logan toed off his muddy boots and fell onto the bed not bothering to change or even to pull down the blankets. The last thing he remembered doing before he drifted off was setting his cell phone on the nightstand, beneath an unusually ugly seashell lamp.

~0~o~0~

Charles sighed as he hung up the phone. The last few weeks were taking their toll on everyone, himself included. Jean and Scott had been his first students, Rogue had been one of his proudest accomplishments, and they had just started to get to know Remy. He knew he would be unable to fall back to sleep, though he had a meeting in a few hours with the Governor about the rights of his students.

He pulled himself in his chair and went to his office, thankful- not for the first time- that he had decided to relocate his suite to the ground floor as more students arrived. He knew the sound of the elevator would alert Ororo and Hank. He didn't want company right now.

Ororo was in the kitchen, making herself a cup of tea. She hadn't slept well lately either. She heard the sounds of Charles moving down the hallway, but decided he would not want the company. If something had happened, good or bad, she was sure that Logan would have contacted her as well.

She made her way silently back to her room, debating with herself over calling Logan. She assumed he had contacted Charles, however by now he may be asleep. She knew the last time she'd talked to Logan he hadn't slept in a while, and if she woke him he would just decide to head out again. This more than anything decided it for her. She was well aware he seemed to be able to live through pretty much anything, but she wasn't risking his health and safety by having him drive exhausted just to talk to him for a few minutes.

Everyone was on edge. It had been weeks, and there was no trace of their missing friends. Kitty and Piotr were still blaming themselves, since they had been there but unable to prevent the kidnapping. It made it worse that some of them, Ororo included, were informed of the types of torment Remy had endured under this madman's care before. Kurt was luckily not among those who were aware of the details, he was still as on edge and worried as the other two. Alex had it worse in a way, since Scott had warned him about Sinister last year telling his brother what he knew though not in detail. Scott had been concerned at the time not for his own safety, but for Alex's since Alex was all alone and far from Scott.

Ororo was so distracted by these thoughts, that she nearly drowned her potted ferns. She realized her mistake a moment before adding too much water, and set the can aside, deciding to try once more to sleep.

~0~o~0~

Logan woke to the sound of his phone an hour before dawn. One of his many contacts, an unnamed agent of SHIELD had called to tell him about a possible lead, though at Logan's growled hello the man wasn't sure how well he would take the information. "Logan, we received word fifteen minutes ago that two girls matching the descriptions given were transported to Mercy Hospital in Los Vegas Nevada. There was no word on their condition, no sign of the men."

"Keep an ear out for the boys, I'll be there as soon as I can." Logan said in return before calling Xavier. He quickly repeated what he had been told, and promised to meet the team a few miles from where he was in Massachusetts.

He was pacing on the road next to his motorcycle, and debating just continuing on his own, when the team arrived twenty minutes later. Kitty, Piotr, Sam, Amara, Bobby, Jamie, Rhane, and Emma had all jumped on coming along. Emma had never met the missing members, but hoped to be able to help anyway, since she was a telepath and they had no idea if the girls were even awake.

Alex and Kurt had both wanted to come as well, but Charles refused. He wanted to know what condition they were in before he allowed the brothers to attend their families. Alex protested this, reminding Charles that his brother had yet to be found. Charles was firm however, and the team left the two brothers in the care of Ororo as they sped toward Logan in the Blackbird.

They arrived at the hospital ninety minutes after Logan was picked up, thanks to the Blackbird's speed and Logan making a few calls to get top clearance to land quickly. Once there, Charles and Logan had to argue with the staff for a few minutes on the ability to confirm they were authorized to see or discuss the girls. Rogue was easier, since Charles had guardianship of her but Jean was married, and her parents had never signed a waiver for him.

Eventually, they were allowed in, but the rest of the team was informed they had to stay out in the lobby. Jean was awake when they entered the room. She was sitting up in her bed waiting for them, since Charles had contacted her and told her they were there. She had chosen not to wake Rogue however; the younger girl was in worse condition than her.

Jean was dehydrated, and malnourished. She had lost five pounds in Sinister's 'care', as well as the mental damage and his experiments which she had no intention of talking about in front of the hospital staff. For Rogue, it had been worse. She too suffered from lack of food and water, but her injuries were more evident. She had puncture wounds and bruising all over her upper body.

Logan growled when he saw the condition of the girls, and Charles froze for a moment before gaining his composure. Jean nodded to Rogue and said. " Remy was being difficult, attempting to rescue us. Sinister punished him by hurting her and making him watch. It was terrible."

"Where are Remy and Scott now?" Charles asked, certain he already knew the answer.

"He didn't let them go, just us, said he was done with us for now."

"Do you know where he kept you?" Charles asked.

"Some small town, not far from here. It took us a day to walk here. We had to stop a few times, I think Rogue's leg is broken, but I don't know for sure, it was hectic when they got us here, and she's been asleep since they put us in the room."

"When she wakes up, I'll heal her. If she'll let me." Logan said. He had pulled a chair up next to Rogue and carefully picked up one of her hands in his gloved ones. He didn't know if this had set her back on her control, or if her powers were 'on' right now, but he wasn't going to make things worse for her with an unintended absorption if he didn't have to.

Charles agreed, and after sending a message to Emma that the team should go find something to eat and wait for a few hours, he took Jean's hand as well and told her she should sleep for awhile. At first Jean protested, insisting they needed to find the guys, but Charles assured her that they would begin the search as soon as he knew Rogue was alright.

The best chance they had at retracing the girls' path was Logan, who was intent on making sure Rogue woke up before he did anything else. He was torn on it, he wanted to go find the boys, but he was afraid she would take a turn for the worse while he was gone.

The room was dimmed and the halls nearly deserted when Rogue finally woke. Her slight shift on the bed alert Logan, who was lightly dozing next to her. Charles had left to send the others to dinner, and Jean was asleep.

Rogue woke in a panic, but saw Logan leaning over her. "You have to save them." she said weakly.

"I will. I had to make sure you were alright first. Here." Logan said, as he held out an ungloved hand. Rogue shook her head and refused.

"Save your strength, you're going to need it to get them out."

Rogue told him everything she remembered, as Jean had done before here, and Logan nodded as he held her hand. It was hard for him, to ignore the urge to react in anger to the things these girls told him. He knew though that it would not help them or the boys who were still trapped. He promised himself he would unleash his fury when he found them, but not before. He waited until the girl drifted back to sleep before he went to meet the others. Xavier would stay with the girls; it was time to find the boys.

 _~0~o~0~_

Logan led the team to the location Rogue and Jean had described, and followed their trail from there to an abandoned looking warehouse complex in the middle of the desert. There was no outward activity in the complex but they approached carefully, assuming they were being watched.

They divided before entering the complex, Wolverine (Logan) in the lead with Iceman (Bobby), Magma (Amara), Multiple (Jamie). With Wolfsbane (Rhane), Cannonball (Sam), Shadowcat (Kitty), Colossus (Piotr), White Queen (Emma) remaining outside as backup.

If they weren't back in twenty minutes, it was agreed Colossus would lead in the second group, and send for a third from the School. As the others watched apprehensively, they disappeared into the dark warehouse. Wolverine stopped just inside the door to adjust to the dim light. The large room was empty, covered in dust, and appeared to have been undisturbed for months if not years.

Wolverine, however, noted the slight signs that the room had been recently walked through. The lingering smells of aftershave and deodorant mixed with sweat as well as an almost-transparent scuff mark from a boot heel told him they were indeed in the right place. He lifted the trapdoor, hidden in shadows and undetectable without the boot mark, and lead the team down into the sublevels.

Here, there were signs of life, the hum of electrical equipment and distant sound of a conversation, as well as the lighting and smells of many people living in close proximity all came to him as he stood at the bottom of the ladder to wait for the others.

He determined in the time it took for the rest of the team to descend the ladder that the majority of the people down here were down the left corridor, and the cells where the prisoners were kept was down the right corridor. No one on the team questioned this, they had never known him to be wrong, though they had no idea how he could know these things.

They crept down the corridor, passing several doors along the way, Wolverine never pausing, until they reached one a third of the way down. He froze at the door with a frown, before turning to the others and whispering. "Iceman, take the others and keep going, you'll find Gambit four doors down on the left. Cyclops is in here."

Iceman nodded and gestured for the others to follow him, leading the rest of the way down to the correct door. Once they were in position, both Iceman and Wolverine opened the doors at the same time.

Behind Wolverine's door, was a laboratory. Cyclops was tied to a surgical table in the center of the room, with an Apheresis machine attached to him, extracting his blood with a soft 'whooshing' sound. When he heard the door open, he turned his head and saw Wolverine.

Wolverine looked around the room to ensure it was empty, though he had not smelled anyone else within, before he untied Cyclops and turned off the equipment attached to him. "The girls, are here somewhere, but I don't know where. They took them away a few days ago. Re- Gambit is in the other room." Cyclops said weakly as he sat up.

"The girls are safe; Gambit will be in a moment." Wolverine said. "Come on kid, let's get you out of here."

~0~o~0~

The others had reached what appeared to be a series of locked hospital rooms. Gambit was in the last room on the left, the six rooms before his were deserted. He was asleep, an IV attached to his left arm, and monitors measuring his heart rate, breathing, and brain waves attached through electrodes all over him. Iceman began carefully removing the equipment as Magma and Multiple kept watch.

Wolverine and Cyclops were waiting at the end of the hall, Cyclops leaned heavily on Wolverine, Magma noted, while Iceman unhooked the last electrode. As soon as this was unhooked, and the heart monitor no longer picked up a signal, an alarm sounded. Cursing loudly Iceman picked up Gambit in an over-shoulder fireman's hold and ran toward the door, down the corridor and to Wolverine's side with the other two just in front of him. They reached the hallway they had entered before being surrounded by Sinister's guards.

Wolverine tapped his communicator in his ear to let the other team know they were needed as Iceman stood close to the wall, and Wolverine leaned Cyclops next to him. Magma stood in front of them and turned on her powers, bursting into flame. Multiple clapped his hands together instantly dividing four copies of himself out who repeated his actions until they had a human shield surrounding Iceman and their injured friends. Wolverine then stepped forward between the original Multiple and Magma.

Blockbuster, a large bald man with the build of a wrestler, rushed forward to tackle Wolverine. Wolverine's claws extended, and the two were gripped in a stalemated struggle as they pounded on each other.

Vertigo, a beautiful woman with strange green hair, released her powers on Magma, as the ground seemed to shift underneath the girl she fell to her knees, holding her head. Vertigo laughed and increased the waves of energy coursing over the girl.

Multiple attempted to send his doubles to her aide while holding back the team of mercenaries, led by another mutant Scalphunter. No one spoke at the two sides collided. The second team was too far away, Sinister's men gaining ground pushing them back toward the cells. It seemed impossible, even with new doubles appearing every few seconds. No one knew the limits Multiple had on his duplicates and this wasn't the best time to check them, but he was visibly straining with the effort.

Wolverine managed to temporarily down Blockbuster, and yelled for the others to regroup. Blockbuster was already climbing back to his feet; Scalphunter and Vertigo were still surrounded by mercenaries; and were now joined by additional mutants. Sabretooth was in the lead of these new arrivals. Wolverine growled but restrained himself from jumping toward his long-time rival with great effort.

Shadowcat, White Queen, and Colossus dropped through the ceiling among the group of heroes as Cannonball arrived behind them. Without a word Shadowcat released her hold on the other two and grabbed Gambit and Cyclops. Before the guards could move she had turned intangible, floating back through the ceiling with the two injured men.

 _White Queen immediately took her diamond form, as Colossus turned to metal. The others, now free from their defense of the injured men, changed tactics. The quick change from defense to offense momentarily confused Sinister's men, giving the X-men the edge they needed to get out of the base._

 _Escaping wasn't something Wolverine took lightly, it was too close to running away for him. However, he knew he needed to get medical attention for Remy and Scott, and get back to the girls before Sinister countered this attack with one of his own. Wolverine would love nothing more than to stay until this place was nothing but rubble, but the Logan in him knew that the 'kids' needed him. So instead of following his temper, he lead the others back to the surface, fighting his way past all of Sinister's forces along the way._

 _Sinister it seemed had left the building either at the beginning of the battler or before it had begun, however as Wolverine and the others made their way to the surface fighting violently along the way he suddenly appeared at the end of the hallway. Sinister with his pale skin, black cloak and suit, and glowing red eyes was frightening in daylight, let alone here in the semi-dark hallways of his house of horrors._

 _As Wolverine charged forward with conviction intent on decimating the villain who dared harm his charges, and the others held back suddenly afraid, Sinister opened a portal taking with him his personal mutant guard (Virtigo,Blockbuster and,Scalphunter) leaving the remaining guards to their fate. In light of their abandonment the remaining mutants turned and ran. Wolverine, denied his prime target worked his way threw any who dared to remain. He had enough presence of mind to sheath his claws instead using brute force to knock out and bludgeon the few who had remained. Though whether this was so they could be questioned later or because he didn't want to scare the teens and young adults with him, he wasn't entirely certain._

 _When the (rather short) fight was over, they had three prisoners to take with them for questioning. They quickly loaded the prisoners, keeping them tied far from the patients as possible and made their way back to the airport near the hospital where Charles would be waiting for them._


	19. Chapter 19

What is to Come

Chapter Nineteen

Graydon Creed glared at the Missing Poster hanging in the cafe window as he waited for his coffee. He recognized the girl, he had met her in passing a few times as a child. It was typical, he felt, they couldn't keep track of their own people. This was just one of the many reasons why they needed to be monitored. He made a mental note to mention it to Kelly when they met later today.

For now, he had a much more unpleasant meeting. One with his mother. She had called him yesterday morning, and had the nerve to threaten to expose him if he didn't meet her. The last thing he wanted was for his people to know what his mother was, not that she had been much of a mother. Their meeting was thankfully brief, and to the point. He didn't like her chosen disguise, but at least she had the decency to do that much.

He sat glaring at the middle aged, brown haired woman sitting across from him in the diner. She was good at hiding, he'd give her that, though choosing to arrive in an older version of the shape she used to wear when she'd visit him at school just served to make him angry and uncomfortable. He watched her stand and slowly walk away as he paid the bill for their coffee and hoped this would be the last he saw of the woman.

There had been a time, when he had been a child, that he longed for her to stay for a while at least but those days were long gone. He hated her with every fiber of his being, and by extension he hated every single one of HER kind. He wouldn't be at peace, in his opinion, until he'd rid the world of his mother and all of the other mutants.

He glared once more at the missing poster as he left. How he hated that girl most of all. How dare she be what their mother always wanted,anyway?! To think he used to wish he was like her so their mother would want him around too. Thank God he'd realized the truth: The y were abominations, he was the normal one and the world was better off without them.

As for her demand that he back off, well she could just deal with it, because by the time he was done there would be nowhere left for her to hide. It was time to up the ante on these things, time to make the world see the truth about them. He smiled,satisfied, as he headed to the highway and his meeting with the new Senator, who knew as well as he did that the mutants needed to be stopped.

~O~0~O~

Remy and Scott had been placed in a room across the hall from Jean and Rogue. Logan and Charles had been sitting with them constantly since they arrived two days ago, waiting for them to be considered stable enough to transfer to their private medical care at the mansion.

The doctor in charge of their case was not yet comfortable released the four of them, despite multiple assurances that they had a state of the art facility and the best mutant specialist doctors available. The fact remained, as far as the doctor was concerned that the four of them had suffered from severe injuries and maltreatment including extreme dehydration. Right now he was focused on getting them stable, then he would consider the transfer.

Most of the team had returned to the mansion, to take care of the students and to ensure that no one caught on that there were a couple members of the staff no longer on the grounds (or in the state) which was a clear violation of the order they had been given a few weeks ago.

Logan sat, drifting in and out of sleep, in a hard plastic visitor's chair between Rogue and Jean as the girls also slept. Rogue had been healed by Logan as soon as he had returned from the mission, but she was still emotionally exhausted, and had spent the majority of the last two days asleep, not just to recover from the trauma of the last few weeks but also from absorbing Logan (which was always difficult-the major reason Logan avoided healing her unless necessary.) Logan felt guilty for adding to her emotional strain,vowing to help her through it.

Meanwhile, Charles sat with Scott and Remy as he tried to repair the mental damage-at least somewhat- of what had been done to them over the last few weeks. Scott was easier to work with since Remy was next to impossible to read even when he was trying to let someone in like now. The men would switch places soon, so that Charles could work with the girls, and Remy could sleep. Try as he might, Remy could not sleep with a powerful telepath sitting just inches from him.

Remy felt,over the last few hours, a deep warmth all over. He recognized the feeling from a few months ago in the hours before he was awoken to his casts glowing brightly. His body had recovered enough for his powers to return, and with their return his powers were healing him. His only concern was what happened last time. As he laid there thinking about it, it was all he could do to not rip all of the cords and needles from his body. The idea of waking up, not in the mansion which was bad enough,but in a crowded hospital in the same situation decided it for him. "Professor!" Remy said as Charles moved to leave the room.

"Yes,Remy?"

"My powers are back, and I can feel it like last time. We ain't got time to let the doctor decide I'm healed enough we gotta get this stuff off me before it goes up like the casts."

Xavier called immediately for a nurse,while Logan entered the room to find out what was going on. Charles quickly explained the situation first to Logan then to the nurse when she entered the room. The nurse was doubtful, but agreed to call for the doctor who was downstairs at the moment.

Logan understood the severity of the situation, and ignoring Charles' protest that they could wait for the doctor began unhooking everything from Remy. "The kid said he ain't got time to wait Chuck, I'm assuming we ain't got time to wait."

Xavier nodded in agreement, and Logan finished quickly before insisting on returning to the girls'. He left just as the doctor came in. The doctor was less than pleased to see the wires and tubes off of Remy, though the nurse who entered the room just after the doctor was more upset than he was it seemed. Alarms at the nursing station had sounded as soon as Logan had unhooked everything and she'd been afraid the young man was actually in bad shape, instead he was sitting on the edge of his bed arguing with the doctor that he was ready to leave.

Scott, for his part was remaining silent during the entire exchange. He was ready to leave as well. He had been promised that they would release him in the morning,since he was recovering well and could continue treatment at the School, however he was feeling very exposed and vulnerable here this close to where they had been held captive. He was sure Jean,Rogue, and Remy felt the same way about it all.

Charles too remained silent at first, but eventually felt compelled to interrupt when the doctor and nurse attempted to get Remy to lay back down so they could reattach the wires. "I apologize for the interruption, however I must intercede at this point. Mr. LeBeau is trying to explain to you both that his mutation is the reason he can't allow you to hook him back up to any of the equipment in the room. It seems he has reached the point of recovery that his powers are attemptin to take over. This means that he mustn't be attached to anything because he will not be able to prevent his powers from interacting with it. To be precise, should you reconnect the wires and IV, when his body begins healing , it will cause an explosion that he will be unable to control. We know this because it has happened before at our facility."

"No one said anything about these mutants being dangerous!" said the nurse with disdain. "I refuse to put myself or the staff in any danger here Doctor. "

With that statement she left the room in a huff, the doctor shaking his head after her. He returned his attention to Remy and Charles to ask them what they expected to happen in the next few hours; Charles explained that over the next four or five hours Remy's wounds would heal, and he would be recovered at least for the most part by the next morning.

The doctor then reluctantly agreed that if Remy was indeed stable the next morning he would release all four patients and the could return home for further treatment. Remy relaxed for the first time since his rescue when he heard this and whether it was that or because healing had such a draining affect on him but he was asleep with in five minutes even with Charles sitting next to him. Scott was asleep shortly after, relieved himself to learn they would all be going home tomorrow.

~O~0~O~

Robert Kelly was happy with the final meeting that he had just left. If everything went as well tomorrow as he hoped then they were once step closer to being free of the mutant problem that was destroying his world. He had proposed a new piece of legislation. It was all well and good that the known mutants had been ordered to confinement. An excellent step in the right direction as far as he was concerned, but what of the unknown mutants? Those who had somehow managed to so far hide in the shadows pretending to be normal?

Admittedly he himself hadn't even thought of this threat at first. Not until it was brought to his attention by Essex. They needed some way to track mutants; for their own good and the good of the normal humans. Which is when Kelly came up with the Mutant Registration Act. It would mandate that not only known mutant groups like this 'X-men' but unknown mutants would have to summit their names,locations, and abilities so that they could be carefully monitored to prevent anymore 'accidents' form occurring.

Essex had suggested some sort of testing to go along with registration however Kelly wasn't sure they needed to go that far with it at the moment. Really, he saw Essex's point on the matter, that unless they did something out in public mutants could still hide and not comply with the new law. However, he also knew that he would not be able to talk anyone into Essex's proposed testing. At least not yet, give them all a little longer to see that he was right, then he would try for testing; until then they would just have to watch carefully.


	20. Chapter 20

_What is to Come_

Chapter Twenty

A week following the return of Remy, Rogue, Scott, Jean, Logan, and Charles to the mansion the news broke that the registration of all mutants had become law. The same day the remaining Brotherhood members headed out, presumably home.

Everyone was sad to see them go, but not surprised. After all they were only at the mansion to help find and recover the missing, they'd agreed to stay and help while half the staff was dealing with the aftermath, but now that everyone was home it was no surprise that they were ready to leave. Especially with the new law.

As for the inhabitants of Xavier's they began preparing for the influx of students that were sure to arrive. They also still were short four teachers as they were recovering from their recent kidnapping. Physically, Remy and Rogue were both fine if a little underweight. Mentally, they were shell shocked by the events of the last few weeks. Likewise Scott and Jean were doing their best to appear fine but were suffering as well. Until they were recovered enough to satisfy Charles like were removed from all duties.

Everyone else was busy with their classes, so the four of them were sitting together in the lounge,watching the news unfold as it was announced that all mutants who knew themselves to be mutants had 48 hours to report for registration.

"It never gets any better, does it? I mean we think we've made a difference when we do things like stop Magneto or Apocalypse, but it always comes back to this." Jean said.

The other three stared at Jean,unsure of what to say. She was usually the one that encouraged the others when they were feeling hopeless. Between her various traumas of the last year though, it seemed Jean was simply out of hope.

"It will get better Jean, we just have to keep trying our best and wait it out."said Scott after a few minutes. "In the meanwhile, we've got to help and protect these kids like the Professor and Logan and Ororo protected us."

"Yeah." said Jean.

Rogue excused herself a few moments later, she was tired and irritable. Jean's negativity was getting to her, and she was trying to be understanding, but she had her own issues and really wasn't in the mood to be compassionate.

Remy left a few minutes later to find his girlfriend and make sure she was alright, figuring that Scott could handle Jean's depression. If not, he reasoned, then he could get Charles to talk to her. For now, Rogue was what he was worried about.

Remy felt terrible for what happened to Rogue. Sinister tormented her to get to him, he couldn't get passed the guilt. If only he'd found a way to get them out of there sooner, or seen the attack coming to beforehand, or just never agreed to Sinister's "help" to begin with. It turned out he hadn't really needed it after all, Charles had managed to help him and no one had gotten hurt. Well, accept for him and Rogue, and the Summers.

If he'd had more faith in Charles to begin with, maybe this whole thing could have been avoided. One thing was certain though, he was glad he'd at least managed to save the Morlocks, because if anything had happened to them, he never would have been able to forgive himself.

For the first time in weeks, Remy thought about the fate of the Morlocks, and decided now was as good of a time as any to question Charles on them. After all, he knew the last he'd heard was that they were talking about moving on from the house Charles had provided them to stay in. Rogue had gone to her room, and judging by the music, he knew she wanted a while to herself so instead he decided to talk to Charles.

Charles quickly filled Remy in on the situation. Spike and Jade were, for the moment, staying in the house upstate. Calysto and the remaining Morlocks had taken Magneto's offer (via Wanda) and were headed to Genosha. Remy was sad that it had come to retreating so far for them but he understood. He was also relieved in that he hoped now that they would be so far away Sinister would leave them be. One less group of people for him to worry about anymore, since the madman was still out there somewhere despite Logan's best efforts to track him down.

~0~O~0~

Magneto sat in what he had declared his office, as Tabitha, Lance, Fred, Todd, Pietro and Crystal, John, Wanda, and Calysto came in. Submitting to Magneto's rule had been the hardest part of the move for Calysto which Magneto realized, therefore he had given her a position on his 'council' right next to his children, making the transition easier on everyone.

This was the first official meeting since the arrival of the Morlocks yesterday. Magneto called the meeting right away to establish the ground rules of last few weeks his Acolytes had done a wonderful job organizing the island and establishing trade with the mainland until they could get everything up and running. Their final goal was to be completely self-sufficient but he was well aware that would take time and people.

The entire East side of the island was a city district, the West side was farmland. To the North was a small forest and to the South was what was beginnings of the city spreading. Magneto had surrounded the island on three sides completely with the East side only a small entry with a large metal sea wall. This was to aide in keeping invaders out of the island.

They all agreed durning the meeting that Magneto's plans for the island were well thought out and would work out the best for the inhabitants of the island long term. Since what they needed most was people, Magneto intended to send out pairs of recruiters to bring more mutants back to the island. Spyke and Jade were staying in New York as Calyso's recruiters.

Lance and Tabitha would be heading to California in the morning. Fred and Todd would be staying in Genosha as security. Wanda and John would be heading to Florida, Pietro and Crystal would be staying on Genosha while he finished healing (much to his disgust). Meanwhile, Calysto would set to work assigning jobs to her Morlocks to get the island's industry started. Eventually, if all went as planned, there would be enough people on the island that assigned work rosters would no longer be necessary, but for now it was the only way they could smoothly get things started.

With the plans agreed on everyone went their seperate ways to get started on their assignments. Peitro stayed behind, telling Crystal that he would be out in a moment. When the room was finally empty but for him and his father Pietro said. "I've recovered Dad. I really have. I'm not tired, there's no pain, and I can move as fast as I want to again. I don't get why I have to stay benched!"

"You were shot! You were in a coma for weeks. No one could even tell me if you would wake let alone when."Magneto said to his son without looking up from his paperwork. " Once you were awake, you could barely move. You needed intensive physical therapy to regain your strength and heal. I am not yet comfortable with your ability to defend yourself if the need arose. Especially with the way things are heating up at the moment. Crystal is a lovely young woman and a brilliant nurse but she couldn't defend you either. Therefore you will be staying here. In a few months if things continue to improve for you we will revisit the subject. Until then the matter is closed."

"I'm telling you,I'm fine" said Pietro as he slammed his fist on the table.

"Angry outbursts will not convince me that you are ready to go out there."Magneto said, finally looking up from the various reports Tabitha had left him. "If anything, they convince me that you're not ready yet."

Pietro walked out muttering to himself as he met up with Crystal who calmly led him back to their house. This wasn't the first time that they'd gotten into this argument and it wouldn't be the last, but for now the matter was closed. Crystal quietly agreed with Magneto that Pietro wasn't ready however she never voiced this to him having to desire to fight with the man or get caught between them.

~0~O~0~

Robert Kelly was pleased. Now that all of those abominations had to register they were one step closer to being free of them. Graydon Creed was slightly less optimistic. He felt they still had a long battle ahead of them, as he voiced when he arrived.

"Relax Graydon. Yes, we still have quite a battle ahead of us, no one here is foolish enough to think that they will all go quietly. However, the tides have indeed turned in our favor." said The Man of Shadows, who recently insisted they refer to him as Dr. Millborn.

Creed shuddered at the voice of their benefactor, before nodding stiffly and returning his attention to the fire. He believed Millborn was one of THEM. He _**knew**_ Millborn was, but he lacked proof that would turn Kelly's opinion.

Millborn knew Creed suspected him, he also knew that Kelly did as well, but he was unconcerned. Kelly wouldn't do anything to double cross him, the man was far to afraid of him. As for Creed, Millborn was well aware of his parentage and had the proof behind it. If the man chose to fight him, he would simply expose Creed for what he was. Creed would lose everything. The worst case scenario, Millborn would simply have to give up this identity for a few years which would be no major loss in the grand scheme of things. After all, Sinister had many faces, and always had a back up in the wings in case he had to shed one. It would be a shame however, if he were to have to move on before he'd finished setting up his plans.

~O~0~O~

Jean came to Charles shortly after Remy left him to insist that she was ready to return to her studies and to teaching. Charles was hesitant to allow it, as he felt she still had a great deal of emotional healing to overcome, however she was insistent.

"With registration now completely mandatory to become overwhelmed with students Professor. We all know that there will be more kids coming either because their parents feel it will be safer for them or because they no longer want them."

"That may be true Jean, however we are fully capable of handling the influx while you and the others recover. You've been threw a terrible trauma. Traumas actually." Charles said calmly.

"It's just the beginning sir. They are going to make them come here eventually, that's what they will push for next. Then even the families who wanted to keep their children home will have no choice. We will have more kids than we have room before long, let alone missing so many members of the staff." Jean said. Before Charles could respond, she continued. "I'm not the only one who feels this way Charles. I know for certain that both Rogue and Scott feel they are ready to return to duty, and Rogue seems to feel that Remy wants to as well."

Charles nodded. He wanted time to think about it, which she could tell from his expression so she would let him think it over. Not for long though, because staying idle was not helping her recover and she felt the last thing any of them (especially herself) need was another minor or major flare of the Phoenix. The best way that she had learned to keep it under control was to stay busy and not dwell on things A mistake she had made several times this last year was to dwell on her fear, thus increasing it and eventually losing control. She refused to allow it to happen again.

Charles,on the other hand, was concerned that her refusal to focus on what had happened over the last year would lead to another break down. He had tired everything he knew of to get the young woman to deal with her issues and was hitting a wall of resistance every step of the way. He was thankful that Jean was talking to him at all at this point and after she left he considered the situation further. Perhaps he could convince her to deal with some of it as a condition to agreeing to reinstate her as a teacher.


	21. Chapter 21

_What is to Come_

 _Chapter Twenty One_

No one was quite sure why, but Kitty had taken an immediate and strong dislike to Emma Frost. Emma, for her part, neither knew nor cared why Kitty disliked her. The two of them constantly threw barbed comments and quips at each other. After a few weeks of attempting to get them to stop, the others gave up and simply instructed them to keep it down around the students.

Strangely Rogue had no issue with Emma despite being known for her usual distrust and dislike of anyone new. Emma and Rogue quickly became almost friends, and Charles was encouraged by this,insisting that Emma sit in on Rogue and Remy's 'maintenance' sessions so that she could better learn. Neither of them had an issue with this mostly because none of them actually read Remy's mind so he had no reason to complain.

Ororo never voiced an opinion of Emma, and no one aside (perhaps) Charles and Logan knew how she felt about the new member. Jean,like Kitty disliked Emma but the reason was obvious to everyone. Emma's first day at the mansion Scott barely managed to look away from the scantly dressed blond, Jean smacked his shoulder and Bobby glared at him.

By the week of Thanksgiving, the population of students had reached around one hundred and the feud between Kitty and Emma was at a breaking point. It escalated into a rather loud fight in the kitchen as Rogue, Kitty, Jean, Elizabeth, Emma, Amara, and Ororo were preparing part of the feast on Wednesday. Luckily, none of the students were around, as Logan and the other guys had taken them all outside to run off their energy before it was time to switch. The kitchen while huge was not big enough to fit everyone in it at the same time plus someone had to watch the kids.

It all began when Kitty arrived a few minutes late. Emma was sitting at the table peeling potatoes when Kitty came in. "Sorry, I lost track of time." Kitty said.

"No one else managed to run late."Emma said before Ororo could respond. "I was here ages before the rest of you, yet here I am stuck doing your job."

"Considering you never bother to get dressed I'd say arriving early isn't that big of an accomplishment." Kitty fired back.

"Darling, if it bothers you so much that your husband peeks at me, perhaps you should stop dressing like a little girl." Emma flung back casually. "Not that you have anything worth flaunting. Starting to look a bit pudgy there I'd say."

Ororo tried at this point to intervene, Rogue, Elizabeth, and Amara decided to just stand back and watch. Jean jumped to Kitty's defense. Things had already gone to far though, as evidenced by Kitty's shriek as she dived over the table at Emma, hitting her square in the nose ans scattering freshly washed potatoes all over the floor.

Jean and Ororo wrestled to two away from each other, and Ororo ordered the other three to finish up as they dragged the two of them away. Kitty outside via Jean for some fresh air and Emma down to the medlab via Ororo to check on her now bleeding nose.

Scott, Logan, Remy and Piotr chose that moment to enter the kitchen. Logan noticed the smell of blood and growled while Remy asked what happened and Piotr looked around for his wife.

"Emma and Kitty got into a fight. Emma said some stuff, Kitty said some stuff. Ya know the usual. Then Kitty punched Emma in the nose. Now they're being kept apart and we're stuck with the potatoes." Rogue said as she picked them up off the floor to rewash them.

"Hmm. Sounds like an elaborate hoax to get out of kitchen duty."Remy said.

"Are you saying they planned all this just to get out of peeling some potatoes?" Rogue said. "Started some kitchen fight have you? Talking from experience?"

"Non. Absolutely not. " Remy replied in an offended tone. "I don't mind kitchen duty, why would I do something like that. Now if it were bathroom duty, that'd be a different story."

Rogue rolled her eyes at his sarcasm and handed him a knife to help her finish the peeling as Piotr silently left in search of Kitty and Logan simply grunted. All kidding aside, Logan knew they had to find some way of calming all this fighting down before it spilled over to the where the students were witnesses to it.

~O~0~O~

The FOH had grown increasingly in numbers over the last few months, much to the delight of Graydon Creed. When he realized his goal of amassing a small army capable of fighting off any potential counter attack by the mutants, he intended to cut his ties to Kelly and Kelly's mutant benefactor. He decided just before Thanksgiving that he had indeed reached this goal.

He was rather happy as he made his way to the meeting with the other men, now that he could finally break away he felt much lighter, working with a mutant (even one who seemed to share his values) just didn't sit right with him. He honestly couldn't understand why Kelly continued to work with the man. He'd even asked Kelly a few times but had never gotten a response.

Graydon arrived moments after the others, ad sat calmly in the chair near the fire as Kelly outlined his latest accomplishment, which would be announced in a few hours. Creed wasn't really listening, after all this was his last meeting with them and his plans had nothing to do with theirs. Sure, it was possible Kelly's newest win could make hunting down those filthy abominations easier, but how could he really rely on the information so long as the man across from him walked free?

They other two had just stood to gather their coats, when Creed decided now was the best time to tell them he was out of their partnership. "Well gentlemen, it's been interesting working with you these last few months, but I'm afraid I'm ready to admit our goals no longer align." Creed said, attempting to be diplomatic. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, the strange mutant scared him. There was no reason to offend it while in the same room as it.

"What are you talking about, Graydon? We have several plans in the works right now."Kelly said with a frown. Unbelieving that Creed would just walk away this close to their goals.

Creed just shook his head and started to leave. "Have you decided to retire into a quiet life outside of politics then Creed?" asked Him. "That really is a shame, you showed so much potential. It would be a shame if anyone were to discover your secret should you continue your current line of work without us as an umbrella. How many of your followers do you suppose you would still have should it come out this afternoon?"

Creed stiffened and said without turning back into the room. "Are you threatening me?"

"No my dear friend. I am simply reminding you that you built a steel palace on a shaky deck of cards. One wrong move and it all falls to the next person able to pick it up."

"...So what are we doing next?" Creed said after a deep resentful glare.

"I will let you know when you are needed. Until then, you are free to go about as you please." He said. With that, he left and Kelly looked at Creed with pity in his eyes.

"Now you know. There's no escaping him, unless you're willing to lose everything you've build." Kelly said. "I don't know what he has on you, anymore than I'll tell you what he has on me. But just remember, now that oyu tried to leave, he'll never let you forget who's really in charge around here."

Creed nodded silently, and left the room. He was no longer anywhere close to being happy. He was trapped in that thing's clutches for the foreseeable future. The worst part was he still had no idea what it's agenda actually was, yet somehow he knew that sooner rather than later, he was going to be dragged right into the middle of it.

~O~0~O~

Despite the current high school-like behavior of a couple of the teachers, for the most part everything had transitioned fairly easily. None of the student body seemed to have noticed anything was amiss with Emma and Kitty, just as none of them noticed that Remy, Rogue, Scott, and Jean never left the grounds or went anywhere alone outside of the mansion even on the grounds. It may have been harder to hide these things from the students if not for the stress they were all under from the outside world.

It had been agreed at the beginning of the year that the students were not allowed to watch the local news without an adult present after the attacks had been escalating all fall. This rule was an attempt to avoid a panic over the way things had been going out there. This was how Bobby and Emma happened to see the 'breaking news' that appeared that afternoon.

Emma had the presence of mind to send the children from the room as soon as the 'Breaking News' announcement was made, and send a mental message to Charles. The other adults all arrived as The President and Senator Kelly walked on stage. "We reached a startling conclusion considering the recent Mutant Registration Act we have only a 41% compliance rate. This can not and will not continue, for the safety of all involved. This is why, I'm happy to announce the formation of the Mutant Registration Department. Department Officials had been given the legal right to detain and question anyone found to be an unregistered mutant. Again, I must remind you all that this is for the safety of all of our citizens." The president said.

The reporters were all vying for the chance to ask a question, but in the mansion the were all sitting silently staring at the screen. Some in anger, but mostly in shock. "Did they really just create a new police force to FORCE mutants to register?" Kitty asked in horror.

"Yup. They sure did." said Bobby.

" How are we going to make more people fit here?" Piotr said. "We are completely full now."

"That is not a concern."Xavier said grimly. "It can be easily rectified."

Everyone nodded at this, not sure how they could make room, but believing Charles would have a plan, for most of them they were far more concerned with the people who would be exposed and harassed.

Trask appeared on the screen, standing behind the others. Logan growled at the sight but Trask stayed in the background. Instead, the president continued to give vague half answers to the reporters questions, until Emma said. "Are we still watching this? They're telling us nothing but lies to cover up what they've really done." as she turned off the television.

Before anyone could protest, Ororo agreed. "Ms. Frost is correct. We will find no answers from this broadcast. We must seek out these answers elsewhere."

Warren and Hank both left to make a few phone calls to see if their contacts could give them any information. Charles waited until he knew the room was calm before retiring to his office to do the same. After a few minutes, Remy followed them out simply claiming that he needed air, but Rogue at least knew he was going to see what his Guild contacts knew.

Logan decided that it would be best to distract the children from the sudden activity and therefore left to announce a impromptu DR session. Jean and Emma went to the kitchen to begin dinner, Rogue and Kitty stayed where they were and everyone else returned to what they had been doing before the message to come to the rec room had been announced.

This was bad news, they all agreed, but they weren't really shocked after they had a moment to think about it. This was just another step into the control of their people.

~O~0~O~

With the announcement of the Mutant Registration Department, came the first en masse refugee move to Genosha, as Magneto suspected was coming. The number of new mutant arriving went from a few dozen a month to three hundred by week's end.

Dorian Leech was the youngest mutant to arrive that week, and his mother was only the second human to be granted passage to the island.(The first being Crystal who had, in Magneto's opinion, more than proven her loyalty to his son before arriving) Ms. Leech was accepted easily onto the island, and Magneto made sure to assign her housing near his own dwelling to assure her safety and to keep an eye on her. Old habits die hard, as to old hurts, and he didn't trust the woman, though he respected her for her continued loyalty to her son.

Crystal and Pietro announced their engagement the day after people began arriving on the island. Wanda was happy for her brother, as were their friends, and if their father had concerns he hid them well. Instead he congratulated the happy couple before returning to the task of transitioning all of the new residents into their new homes and jobs.

Charles had called him the first day people began arriving. After a rather long conversation over the events of the last few months, Charles agreed to send any Erik's way that wanted to go as they arrived at the mansion. Erik also agreed to send any teachers he could manage to find and were willing to go to Charles.

Magneto announced himself ruler of Genosha as soon as it became apparent that they would soon have a fully occupied country again, formally announced it that is, as everyone who had been on the island prior to the most recent event were already well aware that he was their leader.

Over the next few days, many seemed to regard him in an almost king-like status, so by the end of the first month he decided to just assume the title for foreign negotiation of trade. They also resumed planting in the farmlands, assigning mutants with powers that could aide in a healthy crop, and restarted some of the factories with the same theorized workforce. Wanda,Pietro, and Erik spent a lot of time making various arrangements to keep the country running.

Pietro also seemed to be improving every day, and was soon walking around without the aide of his cane or anyone's support. He was nearly completely healed, and spent most of his afternoons working back up his strength for the coming battle he felt building.

 **A/N: I apologize ahead of time, that the next chapter is probably going to bit a few days late. I injured my hand and have been unable to type. (Even now I am typing very slowly with one hand) Therefore am behind. Good news, hand's not broken, bad news it is sprained. I will do my best to get the chapter finished quickly.**


	22. Chapter 22

What is to Come

Chapter Twenty Two

In the days and weeks following the announcement of mandatory registration to the Mutant Registration Department, 'Volunteers' appeared in schools, doctor's offices, clinics, in front of shopping centers, and through out neighborhoods.

These people were officially there to help facilitate in compliance to the new laws. In reality they were there to turn in anyone they suspected was a mutant but not complying. It didn't take long for the mutant community to realize this as more and more of them disappeared. It took the human community longer to catch on, and for the most part they didn't react when they did. After all, they weren't mutants, so it didn't affect them.

Meanwhile, children were encouraged to turn it their relatives and neighbors who were hiding their abilities. Adults were warned daily of the dangers of mutants in their neighborhoods via special news broadcasts. Employers began demanding gene-status reports from their employees doctors to keep their jobs. It hadn't taken long to turn the country against the mutants. Not after months of hearing the stories of how dangerous they were.

Xaviers' was growing steadily in new students, and Genosha was receiving refugees daily now. Still, it wasn't enough, and the reports of those who had gone missing came in steadily as well. Sam Gurthie came to the Professor early one morning, a few weeks after registration had begun en masse to inform him that he had been unable to get through to his family home at all the night before. Sam knew that at least one of his sisters was a mutant too, but she was so young that he and his parents thought she would be safe at home.

After a few phone calls to his contacts, Logan was able to confirm the worst: Sam's parents had been arrested for harboring unregistered mutants, and all nine of his siblings had been taken into custody. Charles spent most of the day on the phone attempting to get the family freed before he contacted Erik.

Erik then sent a formal complaint to the US congress, demanding the release of the Gurthie family into his custody, siting that since Genosha was now recognized as it's own nation, he could and was claiming the Gurthie children as Genoshian citizens and were being detained illegally according to the agreement they had signed with Genosha a few weeks earlier. Mr. and Mrs. Gurthie were released as well as their children into the custody of the Genoshian representative, Saint John Allerdyce three days later. This did nothing to help the building tensions between humans and mutants throughout the country.

~O~0~O~

Robert Kelly stood, looking out of his office window. In the weeks between the announcement of the Mutant Registration Department and last night everything had been going well for Kelly. Neither of his 'not so silent' silent partners had bothered him since the announcement, then he received the call from Milburn. He had demanded a copy of the list they had managed to capture so far, which was not a short list.

They had apprehended a grand total of five thousand mutants nation-wide who had refused to register in the three weeks the MRD had been active. It made Kelly a little nervous that Milburn wanted the list, because he had no idea why he would want it. It also made him a bit nervous that Creed had disappeared completely the last couple of weeks.

Milburn was scheduled to arrive in the next few minutes, so as usual Kelly had sent his staff home for the day, when Creed walked into the room. Kelly wanted to say he was surprised but somehow he wasn't, somehow the two always managed to show up around the same time. If not for Creed's completely obvious distain for the other man Kelly would think they planned it that way. Of course, he still hadn't completely ruled out that idea.

"We don't have long, I know he'll be here soon." Creed said as he entered the room.

"How would you know that?" Kelly asked, now more than a little concerned that they were plotting without him.

"Your staff is gone, you're standing pensively at the window, and my aide that I lent you told me you received a call last night." Creed said, then rolled his eyes at Kelly's expression. "Please let's not pretend to be offended here. I am well aware that you sent an aide to spy into my activities as well."

"You went dark! Just when everything was coming together, you disappeared completely!" Kelly said.

"I also found a chink in his armor."

"This better actually be good." Kelly replied, finally sitting down.

"It is. I think we both agree that we knew that 'Nathan Milburn' was an alias, yes? Well I have proof that Milburn doesn't exist. Or rather if he does he's an 87 year old man. Further I found some other aliases along the way, and proof that Milburn or whoever he really is, is not only a mutant (which I already suspected) but wanted by interpol for some very nasty experiments that occurred a few years ago in France."

"How does this help us?" Kelly asked.

"He's blackmailing us into helping him, and now we have something to use in return!" Creed said, red-faced and frustrated.

"If what you found is accurate, and I'm sure it is, do you really think you are the first to dig this kind of thing up on him?" Kelly snarled. " Think about it! You are not a fool don't act like one now! He's like a snake, he'll just shed this identity and move on but he'll be sure to destroy us on his way out. Whatever it was he had on you seemed to shut you down pretty damn quick when you tried to walk before. DO you really want it out in the open?"

"So you just want to lie there and let him continue to walk all over us?! He's one of THEM, he should be in a holding cell, not dictating how we do things! No filty mutie has the right to tell me how to live my life, I ain't going down without a fight, I don't care what he threatens me with."

"So go ahead, nothing's stopping you. Announce to the world whatever he's holding over you, then take him down with you, just leave me out of it. Now if you'll excuse me I believe my guest is here."

Creed glared sullenly as Milburn walked into the room and Kelly silently handed him the list. It was more unnerving than Creed would admit to that the man ignored him completely. They sat in silence for several minutes as Milburn read through the file before Creed finally said as he stood. "I know what you are, and I don't have to sit here. I may be tethered to you're plans, but I don't need to stay and breathe your contaminated air."

"How interesting, as I know what you are as well. In fact, I daresay that our dear friend Kelly here is the only clean one in the room." Milburn replied without looking up from his file. He could sense Kelly stiffen at this statement and was pleased he was so easily manipulating a wedge between his partners. " I do wonder, Mr. Creed how far the apple really fell from the tree. I can't help but notice that you have failed to be tested for the X gene."

"That's because I'm well aware that I am not such scum." Creed growled out.

"I suppose it IS possible, though disappointing, that you lack the X gene considering both of your parents ... Oh I apologize, did Robert not know of your parentage?" Milburn said as Creed stiffened and Kelly scooted as far from Creed as possible and still be at his desk.

Creed paled considerably, as he stuttered a denial. It was to late however, his expression alone revealed that Milburn was telling the truth. Kelly glared at the pair of them, convinced now that they were working together to destroy everything he was working toward. It didn't matter though, he was stuck with them or at least he was stuck with Milburn... Creed however, he could handle.

~O~0~O~

She stared at the test, dumbfounded. She wasn't sure how she felt about it, even now. She'd known the result before she tired, but somehow it was still a surprise. She wanted it to be positive, really wanted it more than anything else she could think of; so she'd half convinced herself that it was just wishful thinking.

After she stared at it for another minute, Jean hid the test in her makeup bag and went downstairs. She was going to have Hank confirm it before she told Scott. They'd decided a couple of months ago to try to have another baby, she wanted to make sure she (and the test) was right before she gave Scott the good news.

Jean dodged Rogue and and Kitty in the hall, and pretended not to hear Scott and Bobby when they greeted her before she managed to make it to the elevator. Remy slipped in as the door closed ; she wasn't to concerned though, he never went to the medlab if he could avoid it... if possible it had gotten worse since they'd been kidnapped.

"Good Morning." Remy said after a second.

"Good Morning." Jean said.

"I thought you had a class at eight?" Remy said, as he looked at his watch.

"I do, just had to take care of something real quick." Jean said.

"Okay." Remy said with a shrug, he'd already returned his attention to the file containing his lesson plan for the day.

"It's nothing important." Jean said. "So there's no reason for you to say anything about it..."

"...Okay?" Remy said, he'd had no interest in what she was up to until now; now he wondered what she was doing that made her so nervous.

Jean fidgeted for a moment, as she wondered what Remy was thinking about this and if he was going to say anything to Scott. She didn't want to get Scott (or her) hopes up. Remy watched her for a moment, then nodded to himself and returned to his file. "Don't worry Jean, I'm not going to start any rumors or say anything to anyone. When you're ready to say something, you'll say it. Congratulations."

"I-" Jean started but the elevator doors had opened and Remy was already walking down the hallway toward the Danger Room. Jean thought about following him, to deny what he assumed, but she didn't think that would work very well plus if anyone overheard them (which was much more likely now that they were in the hall) then Scott was sure to hear about it. This time she was determined everything was going to be perfect from the beginning, then this time everything would go right.

She knew it was irrational, but she was convinced that to insure this pregnancy's success, everything HAD to be perfect from the beginning to end. She watched Remy until he entered the control room while chewing her lip before turning toward the medlab.

It took Hank less than ten minutes to confirm that Jean was pregnant, then she left to decide the best way to tell her husband, after swearing Hank to secrecy (even though he had no intention of saying anything to anyone at the moment.)

~O~0~O~

Everything is falling apart. Graydon knew this to be true. Even though the FOH was growing steadily, and the new legislation he pushed for had passed everything was falling apart. It was all because his secret was not a secret anymore. Both the Abomination, Milburn, knew who his parents were, but now so did Kelly.

Ever since Kelly had learned of his parentage, he had avoided Creed. He acted as though Creed was among the enemy. There was only one answer he could see. He had to prove to Kelly that his parents were his enemies as well, and the only way to do that was to have them destroyed.

Unfortunately, he had to be careful on how he did this or his mother would expose him to his followers. Graydon had been thinking about this for weeks, and now he finally had the solution. He sat in his office in smug satisfaction. There was no feasible way that he could think of that his plan could fail. He had hired his father (who had no idea that he had a child) to assassinate his mother (who he had no idea had once been his lover). It was perfect.

A/N: Sorry again for the delay in this chapter, thank you for your patience. :)


	23. Chapter 23

_What is to Come_

 _Chapter Twenty Three_

 _Jean planned out telling Scott about the baby. She was going to make a romantic dinner on the patio just for them, then tell him over desert. She even decided to go with a 'clue' dinner to see if he would guess before hand. The biggest problem with her plan was winter had truly and completely settled in, the patio was cold and covered in snow and ice. She then decided to talk to Ororo about making the patio warm, just the patio. She didn't want to tell the other woman before her husband though, so she decided to just say she wanted to have a private meal with Scott._

 _Then, she ran into her next hurtle. She was going to make baby back ribs, with baby carrots, baby spinach, and for desert a cake that said 'Congratulations Daddy'. The problem however, was she didn't know how to prepare the ribs and cooking meat had been her first clue that she was pregnant as it bothered her to be in the kitchen while it was cooking. She settled this problem by deciding that since Remy had 'somehow' figured her out, she would beg his help. He agreed to help her, after he smirked in amusement just long enough to annoy her._

 _Finally, the last issue came in the unexpected form of Kitty and Piotr. At lunch, just after she'd finally managed to make all of the arrangements, Kitty stood and announced that she and Piotr had news. When the entire room had silenced, she cleared her throat and said. "Petey and I are having a baby!" in an excited squeal._

 _The room was silent for about half a minute before it erupted in excited cheers and well wishes. All the adults and some of the teen girls gathered around Kitty, Emma couldn't resist her knowing smirk but otherwise decided to be nice for the day and not say anything to upset the mother to be. Rogue hugged Kitty first, and promised to go shopping for baby things with her as soon as they could arrange it. Jean congratulated her, but otherwise held back as Charles announced that he would be ordering in to celebrate for dinner that night._

 _Remy sidled up to Jean as she frowned, now worried about her carefully planned dinner. She didn't want to wait another day to tell Scoot, but she didn't want to upset Kitty by not going to dinner. She also didn't want to announce to the school her own good news before getting a chance to share with Scott. "I already started the ribs for you, I'm sure no one will notice or care if you and Scott skip out all things considered." Remy said quietly._

 _"What do you mean, all things considered."_

 _"... You've been through a lot these last few months, no point in denying it or ruining your mood by listing them all." Remy said. "Despite what many people think of me, and let's face it I gave them reason to think it at times, I am not a cold heart-ed bastard... at least not all the time."_

 _"None of us think that Remy!" Jean said. "You've more than proven your worth and your time with Magneto was forgiven long ago just like Pete."_

 _"That's nice of you t' say, and mostly true, I know, mais you don' think that you are the first group of people to think that about me." Remy said with a shrug. " I've had my moments where I came close to the point of no return. Luckily for me The Professor reached out,no? Anyway, this isn't about me, this is about you and Scott. Take your night off, you've earned it."_

 _Jean finally reluctantly agreed and walked over to the crowd around Kitty, which had grown to include most of the male inhabitants as well. Remy smiled, yelled his own good wishes over the crowd before returning to the kitchen to finish making the food for Jean's celebration._

 _Rogue wandered in a while later as Remy was finishing the ribs. "You aren't on the roster tonight, and The Professor's ordering in, so why are you cooking? You don't even have a class today."_

 _"Someone asked for my help making a special dinner before lunch and I told them I would ,so I am. Kitty'll understand." Remy said in response._

 _"Ah, okay. So Jean isn't feeling up to the party then? No worries I won't say anything." Rogue said, remembering that she'd seen the two of them off to the side earlier. She assumed that Much like Remy suggested, Jean would feel overwhelmed at a party celebrating a new baby when it had only been a few months since she'd miscarried. Remy simply nodded not confirming or denying anything._

 _He hated keeping anything from his girlfriend, but it wasn't his place to say anything about Jean. Instead, he changed the subject by asking her if she was sure she was comfortable shopping. Rogue smiled at this with a shrug. "At this point all shopping has to be done on line so why not? We aren't allowed in the mall at the moment remember?"_

 _Remy honestly had forgotten for a moment that they weren't allowed in the mall, considering he'd been hiding out and refusing to go anywhere crowded since their rescue. Even before that, he had rarely gone much of anywhere in the last year or so._

 _~O~0~O~_

 _The tall, blonde man was surprisingly good at hiding in shadows considering his size and overall nature._ _This was not something Sabretooth thought of, but it was something that was simply part of his nature. He could sit silently for hours, stalking his prey as well as any predator. Which is what he was doing now._

 _He had been sitting on the roof across from the apartment that his target reportedly lived in alone. He had taken this job, not because he needed the money, or because he was particularly interested in it, but because Essex had instructed him to take it when he'd been contacted. Something about this whole thing seemed off to him, but he was not going to question an order from Sinister._

 _The woman he was to kill finally came into the apartment about five in the afternoon, three full days after he had settled in to begin watching her. Three days had been more than enough time for him to grow angry and bored with having to wait for her to arrive. Despite the fact that he had been waiting for her so that he could kill her, he still felt that she had intentionally wasted his time by being absent for so long._

 _It was this feeling of agitation that made him decide that he was going to torment her first, instead of just shooting her from here as the contract had suggested. He slipped from the roof and silently crossed in shadow to the apartment in question just as the lights in the front room clicked off, and the one in the bedroom came on. He lifted the living room window, sneaking in from the fire escape._

 _The living room was nicely decorated in earth-toned furniture and artwork that while tasteful, strongly suggested either an inter decorator designed the room or the apartment came fully furnished. Slipping into the bedroom confirmed for him that this place came furnished. In fact, looking at the bed, he realized that the apartment was really glorified hotel room. This didn't matter to him, beyond the fact that the target could move on at any time, making his job harder._

 _He had been told almost nothing about the target which is how he preferred it. He didn't even know her name, just a vague description of what she looked like. He heard the shower running through the door on the left, and could see the closet to the right was mostly empty. On the dresser in front of him, he saw her purse and makeup bag, a bottle of expensive perfume sitting open next to it. This was what had made him pause._

 _It was a faint smell, one that most people wouldn't have noticed at all, but the perfume in that bottle was bothering him. He realized he had smelled it before, many years ago, but he couldn't place where. It reminded him of something... but he couldn't quite reach the memory. Just that the idea of hurting the person connected to the memory bothered him more than he could stand. He did the only thing he could think of at that moment, and retreated to the roof across the way to try to come up with a better solution to his contract. Perhaps he would simply return to the original plan of shooting her from here._

 _He watched through the scope of his rifle until he saw a shadow behind the curtain of a woman. He added pressure to the trigger, and couldn't bring himself to pull it. He wanted to know why that perfume bothered him. He wanted to know who it was that it reminded him of, and he knew that the woman he had been hired to kill may be the only one who could answer his questions. So for tonight, he was going to let her live._

 _~O~0~O~_

 _Jean arranged everything perfectly, a white lace tablecloth sat on the patio table, with two chairs on either side of a two candle centerpiece surrounded by a baby's breath wreath made by Ororo, who had also ensured a warm breeze isolated to the patio. Dinner was set elegantly on the plates with desert sitting on a tray near by._

 _Jean had dressed in Scott's favorite dress, a green velvet sleeveless gown that had simple gold straps and trim, with matching gold sandals. She was wearing her hair in a french knot, and was wearing the earrings he had given her last Christmas. She had sent Scott a message earlier in the evening, telling him that they would be eating on the patio and to dress nicely. Everything was exactly as she wanted it when he arrived on the patio in his gray suit and tie._

 _Scott however, was concerned that something might be wrong until he arrived outside. The message had concerned him, having received it shortly before he meant to go down to dinner. He hadn't seen his wife since lunch when Kitty had announced her pregnancy and he was worried the news had upset her._

 _Now though, he was simply confused. She had set everything up in such a manner that he didn't think this was about avoiding the celebration anymore, but he had no idea what they could be celebrating. A quick mental checklist assured him that he hadn't forgotten an important anniversary, or date._

 _He sat down as Jean poured him a drink. It surprised him that she served sparkling cider in champagne glasses and he was concerned once more that he might have over looked an important day of some kind. She didn't seem concerned however, and simply smiled at him. After a few minutes he relaxed and enjoyed the meal. "So, who did you get to help you with all this?" Scott asked after a few minutes. " I know you had classes all afternoon so there's no way you had time to cook."_

 _"Remy made the food, Ororo arranged the weather, and Kitty was fine with us missing dinner with the group since I'd already planned this before her announcement." Jean replied with a smile._

 _"What are we celebrating?" Scott ventured to ask, hoping not to upset her._

 _"Why don't you try to guess?" Jean said with a playful tone. "There's clues all over the table."_

 _Scott looked over the meal once more, but couldn't figure out what it might be. He guessed a few simple things, such as date night. Jean just shook her head, but didn't seem upset that he didn't figure it out so he played along, guessing increasingly silly and unlikely things until they had finished their plates._

 _Jean then smiled and placed his desert in front of him. He lifted the lid off the tray and stared down at it for a moment. " I think this might have been mixed up. I think it went inside." Scott said reading the words._

 _"No, it's for you." Jean said._

 _"Oh okay." He said, before the meaning behind the words sank in. "Wait you mean-"_

 _"I found out this morning. We're having a baby Scott!" Jean said excitedly. "And this time everything's going to be perfect!"_

 _Scott rushed around the table to hug and kiss his wife. He couldn't remember ever feeling this excited for anything. He was going to be a father. ""When are we going to tell the others? Wait who all knows already?"_

 _"Remy guessed, so I got him to help. He saw me headed to see Hank this morning. Hank also knows, of course. Ororo I actually told, but she said something about having already guessed that and I told Kitty so she wouldn't be upset that we missed her party." Jean said. "That's it as far as I know, but some of the others might have guessed as well I suppose. Kitty said we should come in and tell everyone at her party, if we wanted. She thought that would be fun."_

 _Scott agreed that was a great plan, and so after they finished their desert they went inside. The party was just winding down, with members of the house beginning to mill around thinking about leaving when they came in. Kitty saw them and after a nod from Jean cleared her throat. "Hey guys, I know everyone's probably kind of tired by now but Jean has something important to say before we all head off to bed."_

 _When everyone had turned their attention to Jean she smiled brightly. " There's going to be two new babies in the next few months. I'm pregnant too."_

 _The reaction was nearly an exact copy of the reaction at lunch. Jean was soon swarmed by well wishers and excited squeals. Scott smiled at the look of happiness on his wife's face. He was glad to see her looking so relaxed after the last few months. He was happy and excited himself at the idea of this baby, but for tonight he was just glad to see his 'Old Jean' back and in the warm embrace of their friends._

 _~O~0~O~_

 _Rogue and Kurt volunteered to clean up after the party, and Remy was in the kitchen cleaning the dishes while everyone else had gone to their rooms. The main reason Rogue offered to clean up was so that she could talk to her brother. They hadn't had a chance to catch up with each other in a few weeks between teaching, issues from the outside world, and dating, The last she had heard, however, Kurt was considering asking Amanda to marry him._

 _Amanda had been Kurt's girlfriend since they had been Sophomores in high school together. They had both graduated now, and Amanda attended college near by, so they still saw each other as often as they could. She however was human, and her parents didn't really approve of Kurt, so it was hard on her to have to choose between their wishes and her desires. Since she moved into her own place, it had been easier on them both._

 _There was still the issue of how often the residents were allowed to leave the grounds. (Though Kurt would occasionally just teleport to Amanda's apartment when he wanted to see her). Everyday it seemed the rules were restricted further, and Amanda had to be careful in case the MRD decided to ever investigate her building. Still, the two were happy together and Rogue wished them nothing but the best of luck._

 _As they cleaned she decided to ask him about it, since he didn't seem to be bringing it up himself. "So... have you decided to ask her to marry you yet?"_

 _"I want to . I even bought the ring."Kurt said slowly. "But I don't want her to fight with her family either. I just don't know what to do!"_

 _"Ask her. It's her life too you know, so she should get a say in how this plays out. If she thinks you're worth it, you're worth it. " Rogue said before patting him on the head. "You know she's gonna say yes Kurt. Amanda loves you, I'm personally kind of surprised she hasn't just broken down and asked you instead. Isn't that how you said you two got together to begin with? She got tired of waiting for you to ask so she asked you out?"_

 _"Don't remind me. So anyway" Kurt said, embarrassed and wanting to change the subject. "When do you think Remy's going to ask you to marry him?"_

 _"Remy and I haven't been dating that long! Besides, I'm not sure he even wants to get married. Like ever. He's never mentioned it."_

 _"Sounds like something you should talk about then." Kurt said suddenly wishing he hadn't decided to tease his sister. He didn't like to see her upset, not that she seemed to be but it worried him nonetheless. "If you want different things from life, like marriage and kids, it is better to know sooner rather than later."_

 _"I know that, but I don't think we've been together long enough to worry about it just yet. I've only had control of my powers since fall! Remy's still working on his. Don't see us making any big plans right now."_

 _"For the record" Remy said from the doorway. " Yes, I do plan to marry you one day Rogue, just not yet. As you pointed out, I'm still working on control. Kurt, you should just go ask Amanda. She'll say yes and you'll get your happily ever after. AND everything you say in the dining hall can be heard from the kitchen."_

 _Rogue blushed, then laughed at this. She hadn't thought about that while she was talking to Kurt and they hadn't been talking quietly either. Remy smiled at them both one more time before kissing Rogue on the cheek and returning to the kitchen. "Anyway. Kurt go. Teleport to Amanda's now, tonight, before you talk yourself out of it again. Go on I can finish this."_

 _Kurt frowned at her bossy tone, but followed her advice and decided to teleport to Amanda's after he went to his room to retrieve the ring. Rogue finished the dining hall, and joined Remy in the kitchen to help him finish in there. What she found was a perfectly spotless kitchen and Remy sitting at the table playing a hand of solitaire._

 _"...You were intentionally listening in,weren't you?" Rogue said as she hugged him from behind._

 _"Oui...Non. A little of both." Remy said with a shrug. "The conversation started 'fore I was finished cleaning, I just stayed even though I was done."_

 _Rogue laughed at him as they headed off to go watch a movie together in his room, as they often did these days. With the way things were legally and with Sinister it had become their form of 'dates' by default, spending a couple of hours watching movies or playing pool._


	24. Chapter 24

_What is to Come_

 _Chapter Twenty Four_

She stepped into her bedroom,wrapped in a robe, and knew immediately someone had been in the room recently. Subtle movements of several items told her this. Most importantly, the bottle of perfume sitting on her dresser. It always sat on her dresser, wherever Raven lived at the moment. Exactly one eighth of an inch from the edge on the left hand side.

It's where it was sitting the last time she wore it, so that's where it sat. Almost a talisman like quality to the bottle. Irene understood, she had never bothered the bottle or asked about it. Though she probably knew better than Raven herself why she kept it all these years. The bottle was a symbol, of the man she had loved and the life they had tried to build together.

That man was long gone now, stolen from her by time and circumstance and he was never coming back. Neither was the Raven who had lived with him. He had been everything to her, she had finally been happy after many years of suffering and searching for somewhere she belonged, she had found him. Bore his son, built a life together. Then one day he was just gone.

Her son, she was ashamed to say, reminded her so much of his father that she sent him away, unable to bear the reminder. She'd gone far away, tried to forget it all, even had a second son with a different man. After she lost her second child, she'd returned home. Graydon didn't know who she was, nor did he care to know her. She realized it was her own doing but the rejection had still stung.

Then she'd become friends with Irene and they'd adopted little Anna, and she thought everything would be okay. It hadn't taken long for her to realize this child, Anna, wasn't what she wanted either. What she'd actually wanted was the life she'd thrown away. Selfishly, she repeated the mistakes of the past and once again walked away leaving Irene to raise the girl, deciding then that the child only mattered as far as her plans went.

If only he hadn't been lost, this man she loved, perhaps things would have been different for her. That was, at least, what she told herself every time she placed this bottle. A bottle that someone had touched. She seethed in rage at the idea of the bottle being touched. She didn't care who it was or why they had been in her room, she was just angered at this violation.

She didn't notice the sniper across from her, it went completely unnoticed by her that he had decided to spare her life for the night, because all she cared about was that her bottle had been slightly moved. It caused a panic attack in her. She didn't bother getting dressed, just transforming into a Raven and flew out of the window in search of the person who had been in her room.

She saw him then across from her window as he was stowing away his rifle. He hadn't noticed the bird flying above him, as he was still preoccupied with thoughts of the perfume that tried to stir memories in him. Raven landed smoothly in front of Victor and before he could react she kicked him in the throat,pinning him against the ledge.

"Why were you in my room? Did Erik send you?" She asked, enraged.

"Ha. Magneto is off playing father of the year or king of the island or whatever these days." Victor growled. He was surprised his target was Mystique but recovered quickly. Honestly, it was no real surprise someone wanted her taken out, and he was staring to reconcider sparing her.

"Why. were. You. Touching. My. Things?!" Mystique growled out.

"Just trying to figure out who my target was, is all. "Victor said, not at all concerned about telling her about the hit on her. It happened often enough that someone hired him that he assumed she'd already guessed that part. "Why does that scent smell familiar anyway? It's not like you ever wear perfume at all. I can never smell ya."

"How am I supposed to know how your twisted mind works? I don't wear perfume, so why would you smell it on me?"

"If you don't wear it why do you have it?"

"Because someone gave it to me a long time ago, and it reminds me of him okay?" Mystique said as she finally released him. "Have you dug enough yet or is there some more painful memories you'd like to stroll through?"

"It's familiar. Like I know it somehow."

"Well I ain't worn it in about twenty three years now so can't think of why you'd ask me." she said with a sniff before returning to the form of a Raven and flying away.

Victor watched her go, anger building at the lack of answers. He quickly made his way back over to her apartment. If she wasn't going to give him answers, he'd find them himself. He tore apart the small space, first searching for clues through out her personal items, and when that yielded no answers he vented his frustration on her furniture. He tore apart the furniture, ripped her clothing to shreds, shattered her dishes and electronics, and then just to punish her, he shattered the bottle along with all of her other makeup all over the carpeting. His frustration finally vented for the moment, Victor left. He would find the answers he sought if it killed her he swore on his way out.

~O~0~O~

Kurt had arrived unannounced in Amanda's living room just as she had been finishing the dinner dishes. She was slightly startled by the arrival of her boyfriend, but was happy to see him, if a little concerned something may be wrong. "What is it? Did something else happen?" she asked as she dried her hands.

"No."Kurt said. He smiled as he pulled her into a hug. "That's one of the many reasons I love you, always concerned for me and my family. No everything's fine at the moment."

"Oh good." Amanda said with a smile as she snuggled further into his embrace. "Did I forget a date then? I'm sorry I've just been so crazy busy lately that-"

"No, no I came by unannounced and unplanned. Rogue and Remy suggested I come over." Kurt said as he led her over to the couch.

"I see?" Amanda said, confused as they sat down.

"Yes. They suggested I just do this. I tried to come up with a good romantic plan , but then I got nervous, and things keep coming up that make it seem like bad timing or that perhaps it isn't the best idea or that-"

"Hunny, it's okay. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's fine. You know I love you for you." Amanda said, now concerned again that some new trouble was starting.

"Amanda. Everything's fine I swear. Perfect, maybe. That is if everything goes okay and-" Kurt paused to clear his throat and his mind. " Okay, like I said, I'd like to somehow do this better, but here it goes. Amanda, will you be my wife?"

Kurt kneel on one knee before her opening the jewelry case to reveal a tiny diamond ring. Amanda stared in surprise for a moment before wordlessly nodded then throwing herself into his arms. "Of course I'll marry you Kurt! I love you !"

"I love you too." Kurt said. He was happy and relieved that she had accepted. He swore to himself that he would never make her regret her decision to marry him. He would do everything in his power to make her happy... and to convince her family that he was good enough for their daughter.

~O~0~O~

Remy and Rogue had been watching the movie on Remy's bed for the last hour, though they had spent more time kissing than actually watching the movie. Rogue was trying not to think about the conversation she'd had earlier with Kurt, or rather Remy's interruption of the conversation. The idea that Remy already knew he wanted to marry her scared her a bit. They'd only been together a few months, and she'd had control even less time than that.

What if she lost control again? What if he changed his mind? What if she never really got comfortable with touching? Because right now kissing was already pushing her comfort zone and she was well aware that marriage involved...other things. Things that still scared her. Just as Remy was about to ask her what was wrong, she gasped and jumped off the bed. What if...what if they had a child and Sinister came after it?!

"I'm not ready for any of this Remy!"Rogue said. "I love you Remy. I do, but I'm not ready to get married and have babies. I'm sorry but I'm just not and if that upsets you-"

"Rogue! Cherie, listen. I know you're not ready to get married. Merde, neither am I." Remy said "I thought I made that clear earlier. Oui, I love you, oui I know I want to marry you one day. Mais not now, not yet. We aren't ready. Either one of us."

Rogue sighed with relief that Remy wasn't hurt or upset by her outburst. He hugged her once more and guided her back to the bed, where they both sat and tried to catch up with the movie in silence for a few minutes before Rogue said. "Just so you know, I'm not saying I never wanna marry ya, just... not yet."

"I know Anna. Neither am I." Remy said with a smile. "Shh now, they're going to blow stuff up."

They continued to watch the movie for awhile longer, before they drifted off to sleep. It was a couple of hours later when Kurt appeared in the room,next to the bed. He'd guessed (correctly) that it was where he would find his sister. "She said yes!" Kurt yelled,waking the couple on the bed.

"Whatsat?" Rogue mumbled as Remy sat up and glared at the younger man.

"Amanda said yes!" Kurt said again, completely ignoring the look Remy was giving him. "I asked her to marry me and she said yes!"

"That's nice Kurt." Remy said as Rogue finally sat up too." Didja have to wake us to tell us though? Especially since I think you probably woke everyone else on the floor too."

"Oh sorry." Kurt said, finally noting the time, as Logan barged into the room to find out what the trouble was and glared at Rogue's presence.

"Okay, unless we're being attacked there is no reason to wake the house." Logan said. "Elf congratulations, now go to bed. Stripes, Gumbo get back to sleep...in your own bed Stripes. I don't want to hear another word about any of this until morning."

With that Logan stomped back out of the room, and yelled for the younger kids to go back to bed. Kurt grinned sheepishly at his sister before teleporting away, Rogue sighed and layed back down. Logan reappeared in the doorway with a pointed look and she grumbled before getting up.

After his room emptied, Remy turned off his tv and laid back down. He knew as well as Rogue that the only reason Logan cared where she slept was because of the students. In fact, once the kids were back in bed he could always sneak over to her room to stay the night, he'd done it often enough in the past. Still he was irritated at Kurt for waking them, especially since Rogue was freaking out earlier. In fact, though Logan and the other leaders wouldn't care, Remy doubted Rogue would welcome him sneaking over tonight. Which was a shame, he'd learned months ago that he slept better with her beside him.

It wasn't so much that he'd turned Rogue into a security blanket (or so he told himself) as much as it was that if she wasn't beside him, he worried that she might be captured again and he wouldn't know until morning...or that he would be and she wouldn't know. It didn't really make sense to him that being together made this better since they had been captured together to begin with but then psychology wasn't his field and he'd rather leave that up to the Professor.

Not that he had actually discussed any of this with Xavier or Rogue. He didn't want them to know how afraid he still was. He felt he should be 'over' this by now. Instead he was still jumping at shadows and afraid to sleep alone. After a few minutes he gave up on falling back to sleep. He climbed out of bed and out of his window onto the roof. It was the only place outside he felt comfortable being alone.

He didn't feel completely safe up here, but safer. Plus it was the only place on the grounds he could smoke without reprimand. He rarely smoked anymore, so the other adults (mostly) left him alone about it, but tonight he needed it. Kurt suddenly appearing in his room as he slept bothered him more than he was willing to admit, even to himself.

Remy was laying on the roof, staring at the stars when Rogue sat down beside him. She didn't say anything, but he knew right away that their earlier conversation and her concerns were forgotten. At least for the moment. Eventually she said. "It's cold out here, come on to bed."

He didn't say anything, but with a nod he followed her down the slope of the roof onto her balcony and into her room. With in moments, they were asleep. Neither willing to admit out loud that they were scared to sleep alone after everything that had happened. Unknown to them Logan finally returned to his own bed once they had settled in. He knew, even if they didn't, that the two of them needed each other which is why he was willing to overlook the rules in their case. Besides they were teachers now. As long as the students didn't catch on he didn't see a problem with it.

~O~0~O~

Mystique returned to her apartment near dawn to find it completely destroyed. She wasn't surprised to see the mess everywhere. Victor wasn't exactly known for keeping his temper. The shattered bottle of perfume was the only thing that bothered her. It was gone, the last connection she had to the life that may have been was gone.

She sank to the floor next to the shards of glass, crying over the loss. It was nearly as painful as the day she realized the man who gave it to her was no more. It was like losing him all over again, and she had never thought she'd feel like this again. She didn't make a move when she heard him behind her. What did it matter if he killed her anyway? She'd already lost everything that had ever mattered to her and most of it to her own hand.

"Why does it seem familiar to me?" Victor asked once more.

"Twenty-seven years ago, on my fourth anniversary, the love of my life presented me with that bottle as a gift. I wore it every day. Three weeks later, he went to work and never came home." She said,she'd never told this story out loud, not all of it. "I looked everywhere for him, but to no avail. Then, in desperation, I asked for help about a year after he went missing. His brother went looking for him, and again he disappeared, never came back. Luckily, this time I had the foresight to at least keep track of where he went before he went dark."

"What does this have to do with-"

"DO you want to know this story or not?Because I won't repeat myself." Mystique growled out. Victor merely grunted so she continued. "I followed the trial, it took me to Alkili Lake. That's where I found them, both of them. But they were gone."

"What do you mean?" Victor said in frustration. "How can you have found them and they be gone? That doesn't make any sense."

"It was called the Weapon X program. They'd captured mutants from all over and turned them into something else. None of them remembered anything of their former lives. I tried to talk to both of them, but they didn't know what I was talking about, nothing. I tried to get them to come with me, hoping that I could find them help after I got them free, but they both refused. I was captured myself, for a short time, while trying to get them out. It took me about six months but I finally escaped. By then I knew for certain. The man I loved with all of my heart was gone. All that was left was an empty shell they filled with rage and pain."

"Wait, Weapon X?" Victor said with a frown. It sounded familiar, but he spent years burying any and all memories of that time. It had been nothing but pain and misery the entire time he'd been captured.

"Yes. Weapon X." Mystique said with a sigh. "A few years later, I heard from my contacts that most to the subjects had escaped recently, so I looked everywhere for him. I even wore my perfume again in hopes it would trigger some sort of memory. But do you know what happened? Nothing! Nothing at all. I tracked him all the was to Russia and sat right next to him, even exchanged words with him, and he had no idea who I was. That was when I finally gave up."

"I think I remember being in Russia a few years ago-"

"NO!" Mystique yelled. "No, you don't get to do this to me now! Not after I'd finally come to terms with what happened. Not after all these years! You had your chance to remember it all in Russia twenty-two years ago and nothing! I won't reopen that wound again."

"...You know who I used to be?" Victor asked. "Who was I?"

"Victor Creed." she said as she stood up. "Unlike others in their care, you at least never lost your name. It's all they left you. I'm done with this conversation, good night Victor."

Victor watched with curiosity as she once more turned into a bird and flew away. He wanted answers and she had them, but he wasn't sure she'd tell him anymore...what she had told him left more questions than it answered. He wasn't going to let this go though, because like Logan (though he didn't know they shared anything in common) he had spent the last two decades searching for answers to who he was before.

* * *

AN/ This version of the whole Weapon/Team X background is my own version mixing it together from bits and pieces of the movies,shows and comics...it's also not the last we'll be covering of it. :)


	25. Chapter 25

What is to Come

Chapter Twenty Five

Jean and Kitty were both close to their sixth month of pregnancy, and it was a largely unspoken agreement among the staff of Xavier's that the pair of them be 'sheltered' from what was going on in the world. No one wanted them to stress, no one wanted to risk another loss. With this in mind, the news had been banned under the guise of protecting the children from it. However, Charles, Ororo, Henry, Logan and Warren were all kept up to date on the news.

They were, therefore, not surprised when Kurt came home fuming three days before his wedding. They had learned just that morning (as Kurt had) that a new bit of legislation had passed via silent vote in private session that banned the marriage of any Human to Mutant. Kurt's wedding was canceled, he'd been informed by the church that was going to send the Preacher for the ceremony. Normally, the church, which was very pro-mutant, would have ignored this law and preformed the ceremony. It wouldn't have been legally binding, but they felt it would be spiritually binding which they find far more important (according to the church leaders) However, the law that had been passed mandated that anyone caught preforming an illegal wedding ceremony would be sent to prison.

After Kurt informed the staff of this new twist of fate, and everyone had expressed their outrage and sympathy, Charles called a meeting to further explain the new laws as he understood them from the briefing he received via an old friend who worked in the government. This, it seemed, was just another step into the forced segregation that had started almost a year and a half ago, now.

"They can't do this!" Rogue said, angrily. "How can they ban a relationship like this? What's next, are they going to say no one can be friends with a mutant? Are they gonna keep going so that parents have no choice and kids are legally disowned? How can anyone be okay with any of this?!"

"They fear mutants, and because they fear us they hate us. Hate is a bi-product of fear."Hank said in a calm voice. "We must simply carry on the best we can and hope that the Court will over turn this law since it is clearly a violation of our rights"

"Everything they've done is! Locking us into this school, forcing us to register, arresting people for not registering, all of it!" Jean said." I don't know what to do, some days I think maybe we should just give up and move to Genosha."

Several of the others muttered in agreement,including Kitty as she rubbed her bulging stomach. Remy simply sat in the corner saying nothing and Rogue continued to pace and mutter, but it was Kurt who spoke next. "I do not wish to run away. I wish to marry the woman I love. I wish both her family and her countrymen to accept that we are happy together. I want to have a normal life."

"Well that's just not going to happen Kurt!" Jean said.

Rogue growled at Jean but Charles silenced them all with a look and a raised hand. "I understand how upsetting this is to everyone, but now is not the time for rash decisions. Nor is it time to act, but to trust that the courts will realize that this is unjust and correct the behavior of a handful of men. I believe Humans and Mutants can and will live together in harmony, but that shall not happen if we continue to run or hide from the situation."

Everyone nodded, though not all agreed with him, and the meeting was adjourned. Scott lead his wife upstairs for a nap, Piotr and Kitty went to the kitchen to start dinner for everyone, and Rogue and Remy stayed with Kurt to comfort him. The rest returned to their normal activities and classes. Charles sighed as he returned to his office. He had been able to calm them for now, but who knew how long that would last? Sooner or later someone was going to decide to move to Genosha...and he feared once of of his students decided to go, the others may follow. He wasn't completely certain that it was the best place for Jean or Kitty to stay at the school with tensions rising. In short, though he would never admit it to his 'children' Charles had no idea what to do.

~O~0~O~

Many years ago, William Stryker had worked for an unofficial project that was designed to turn a small selection of mutants into weapons. This was before the world knew about mutants. Stryker himself knew nothing of mutants before he was briefed on the project. He had been fascinated during his briefing, though a little confused as to why Melborne had requested that he personally be assigned to the project.

It had taken a few years, but the truth behind his recruitment occurred to Styker when he realized his son was a had at the time made him double his efforts to get the project up and running. Then, his son killed his wife. He heard from everyone that it must have been an accident. That the child lost control, that he would never hurt his mother intentionally.

Perhaps they were all correct, and the child had simply lost control, but to Stryker that made it even more important that they be kept under lock and key and away from 'normal' people. If they couldn't help the damage they caused then they shouldn't be free to walk among normal people.

Around the time the project completely collapsed, and in part thanks to his son, William Stryker had all but given up his post. One night, quite by accident, he discovered that his partner, the man who was supposed to help him get the mutants under control ,was in fact a mutant himself.

Worse still, the man wasn't depowering them as Styker had been told, but making them stronger. In a rage, Stryker set fire to the lab with the other man in it, released all the projects, and ran away. It was many many years before Stryker resurfaced.

When the world watched the battle with the Ancient mutant known as Apocalypse, there had been mixed reactions but most were positive. Kelly (of course) reacted with anger, as did Creed, but Stryker responded with fear. Where the other two began a political campaign to make mutants illegal, Stryker had created a group of his own, one that was part cult part vigilante group.

From the pulpit, Stryker encouraged his congregation to hunt down wayward mutants and kill them. He had convinced them, and himself, that the mutants as a whole were evil. As his congregation grew slowly for two years no one seemed to notice their activities. Recently, however, he had been noticed by the Mutant Registration Department, or rather they had noticed that several of the mutants they were hunting had turned up in the morgue.

Kelly was informed of this and was Creed and both sent someone to find out who was responsible. Kelly to recruit them, Creed to praise them. They discovered Stryker's church fairly quickly, both arriving to speak with him within hours of each other.

Kelly had been turned away immediately. Stryker had worked for the government before, after all. He didn't trust that they weren't trying to restart the project he helped lead all those years ago. No amount of assurance from Kelly could convince him to speak to the Senator. Kelly even called in Trask in an attempt to convince Stryker. Unfortunately (as Trask had tried to warn him) Stryker recognized the scientist from the Project which sealed the argument for him.

Creed arrived after Kelly had finally given up, barely missing each other. Stryker recognized Creed as well, but unlike Kelly Creed was invited in. After the office was cleared and the door shut, Creed began. "I am the leader of a like minded group that you may have heard of . We call ourselves The Friends of Humanity and our goals mirror your own. We wish to see the end of these abominations before they can take root in our world-" Creed began but was cut off by Stryker after a moment.

"DO you think me a fool?" Stryker asked with menace in his voice. "Do you think I would not recognize your father in your face? I know who you are Creed, and I want to know who sent you? Did you think that you could scare us into surrendering? We are on a holy mission! No matter how many of us fall we will carry on until the last of this plague is washed from the Earth!"

"I am not a mutant!" Creed said, venom in his voice at the suggestion. "I have never shown the slightest sympathy to them in any way! I dedicated my entire life to freeing the world from their terrible stain."

"Victor Creed's only son comes to me to tell me he's on my side and I am to believe this isn't a trick?" Stryker said. "No, this is a test of my resolve! I will prove to the world and to Satan I can not be swayed! I will not be silenced! I will not lose!"

~O~0~O~

Mystique had been all over Europe the last six months. She refused to admit to herself she was hiding from him. She refused to think about Victor at all, in fact. Everytime he got lose to her however, she moved on. She knew she couldn't hide forever, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try.

It wasn't his rage she feared. If he intended to kill her, she would have allowed him to catch her months ago. She wasn't one to hide from a fight after all, no it was the past that he threatened to unbury with his questions and demands. A past that she had no intention of looking at again, so instead she ran.

Then the news arrived. She was sitting in a hotel room in Paris, not far from where they met ironically, when she saw the report on the international channel. Prominent political leader Gradon Creed had been murdered during a visit to Los Angelos was all it said. She (of course) immediately jumped onto her computer to confirm this information with a sinking heart.

It was true. Her first born son, a child she'd rejected so thoroughly that at times she managed to almost forget him, was dead. Her baby was gone. In that moment she finally realized what Irene had told her for years. She had made a grievous mistake in cutting the child from her life, because now that there was no chance of ever seeing him again, now that he was well and truly out of her life forever, she wasn't sure if she could go on or even if she wanted to.

It was here, in the pit of despair, in a dark hotel room that Victor finally caught up to her, and in that moment she no longer cared. She had thought the pain of losing the love of her life was bad, but it was nothing. Nothing to the realization that her son was dead. Nothing compared to the feeling that she had lost the boy years before and perhaps she didn't have the right to mourn what had been long gone. Nothing compared to the realization that her remaining son and daughter would happily go to their graves never speaking to her again. She'd ruined everything. Though she'd known this for years, and even regretted it, it hadn't felt as real as it did now.

"I know you know what I'm searching for, why else would you send me on this wild goose chase?" Victor growled behind her. "Just give me the information and I'll let you live."

"Kill me then, Victor. I no longer care." she said as she sipped her wine. "I'll tell you exactly who you are. You are Victor Creed, husband to Raven Darkholme, bastard half brother to James Howlett, and father to Graydon Creed. The man who hired you to kill me was your son. He was murdered yesterday."

"Wait. What are you talking about? Husband? Father? And were those names supposed to mean anything to me?" Victor said. "I want answers not more questions."

"Then sit down and shut up, because I'm in the mood to indulge you." she said angrily. "To begin with, Graydon hired you to kill me so that no one would ever learn who his parents are, or if they did he could point out that he hated me enough to ave me killed so he clearly had no loyalty to mutants. He was the leader of The Friends of Humanity. Even in your half-crazed state I'm sure you've heard of them."

"Yeah, sure have. My latest employer helped set the whole thing up as part of his 'bigger plan' whatever that means. You're still stalling Mystique."

"No, I'm explaining, you're just not hearing me." she said as she poured herself another glass of wine." I told you months ago about the loss of my husband and his brother, how in my grief I turned away from my child only to realize later that it had been a mistake."

"Yeah,I remember."

"Now I'm telling you why that all seemed so familiar to you, if you'd bother to listen!" she yelled. " **You** were my husband! **Graydon** was that child! It was your life I was telling you."

"...I don't believe you."

"Yes you do, because buried deep inside you already knew it to be true. That's why you've been hunting me. Not to get answers but to confirm the answers I already gave you. You were the man I was talking about, that perfume smelled familiar to you because you gave it to me for our anniversary."

"So you're telling me that we were married and had a child and I forgot all about it? You're trying to tell me someone -you- was foolhearty enough not only to marry me but to have my kid? How messed up is the brat?"

"Pretty darn messed up considering he hired his father to kill his mother...and now he's dead."

"Who killed him?" Victor asked. All of this was still sinking in, it felt surreal. When she said those names it was like the blocks in his mind started to crumble, just a little bit. Just enough to remember flashes. A beautiful blond haired bride walking toward him. A squirimng smiling infant held gently in his arms. Flashes of normal happy family events like dinners and bath-time and birthdays. It was all trying to rush back in. Images appeared in his mind faster and faster.

Now here he was fighting side by side with Wolverine, in war after war. Here he was drinking with the man. Here Wolverine was standing next to him as his bride walked toward him, whispering softly "Don't worry brother, there's no way she's running out on you now."

Here they were now as boys playing together in a garden. He was sitting by Wolverine- Jimmy's bedside as the younger boy appeared close to death. They were running for their lives after their fathers died. Quicker and quicker the memories came

His son's birth, holding the tiny baby for the first time, so scared he would drop or crush the tiny infant. His first smile, taking a shaky step. Him reaching for Victor from a crib, tear streaked face. Raven by his side as they picked out presents for his first Christmas. When painted the nursery. When the doctor told them they were expecting.

There was no reason or order to the memories as they flooded in, but one lead to another to another as he was overwhelmed with them, good and bad. He cried out in anguish at the sheer number of them hitting him as he stood, and fell over the ottoman onto the floor.

"Raven...Our son. My boy." was the last thing he said as he faded into darkness.

~O~0~O~

Wanda had been kidding when she asked her father if he was building a palace next. After all she felt this whole 'King' thing was a little silly. She hadn't meant to give him any ideas. Magneto, however, felt it was a wonderful plan. After all the reason for a palace to begin with had been to protect the royal family (and their countrymen) from hostile forces. So he built a palace.

With it completed, and his family moved into it, Magneto felt a bit safer. Wanda had to admit, it was beautiful, though she doubted beauty was really what her father was going for when he used his powers to construct it in less than twelve hours.

John, Pietro, Crystal, Wanda,Magneto, the Dorians, the Gurthies, and Lorna- Wanda's young half sister- moved into the palace. She still wasn't comfortable with this whole 'Princess' thing, but decided the best way to accept her and John's engagement without a fight was to go along with his schemes at least for now.

John and she had discussed it and decided that John would be formally asking her father for permission to become engaged to her tonight. After all, he was taking this whole 'King of Genosha' thing very seriously and old fashioned or not, it was probably proper etiquette among Royal Families to ask permission before proposing.

John was actually very nervous about this conversation. After he tried once at breakfast, and again at lunch, but being interrupted both times by messengers in need on Magneto's attention John decided the best way to go about this was to make an appointment to talk about this.

Just before dinner he entered Magento's private office. Magneto was reading a report when John came in. He didn't even look up as John entered and John hovered uncertainly in the doorway for a few minutes before Magento said. "Well are you coming in or not?"

"Oh, ah, yes sir." John said as he finally came into the room and sat down. The silence stretched once again as John tried to gather his nerves.

The truth was, if Magneto said no then he didn't know what to do. He never thought he'd be the type to want the father's permission. Then again, he was trying to marry a princess. If he'd known she would someday be a princess when he started dating her, he probably would have run the other way. John wasn't keen on the idea of being involved in leading this new nation. It was to late now though, because now he loved her to much to even consider walking away. If Magneto said no... well if he said no, then John would just have to talk her into running away with him. Of course that wasn't very practical either with the way the world treated mutants plus she would have to give up her entire family. Which he couldn't actually imagine asking her to do.

"Was there something you needed John?" Magneto asked, it had been several minutes since the younger man had sat down, and though he hadn't spoken he looked more and more panicked as the seconds ticked by.

"Sir, I don't know how you'll take this, or how to word this right, which is kind of ironic since words are my career and-" John rambled nervously. Magneto smirked at him which wasn't helping his nerves at all. "Anyway. Sir, I'd like permission to marry your daughter."

"I hardly think Wanda needs my permission to do anything,John. She does what she feels is right, and be damned with my opinion. That said, I wondered how long it was going to take you to get around to asking her. Now get going, you have my blessing, now ask your bride, before she figures out you asked me first and tears you apart."

"...It's the proper way to do things, now that you're a King, We thought-I thought.."

"I appreciate the propriety. I do believe Wanda was having a bit of fun with you however; My children do not need my permission to be happy. No go, I have a lot to do before dinner."

John nodded and left the room shaking his head. Wanda was waiting at the end of the hall, and he went straight to her to tell her what her father said, they would be officially announcing their engagement tonight at dinner.


	26. Chapter 26

What is to Come

Chapter Twenty Six

Kurt had appealed to the courts, all the way to the Supreme Court, with the help of Xavier and a team of lawyers hired by Xavier, but to no avail. The law stood, he and Amanda would not be allowed to marry. Not unless they moved out of the country.

Amanda's parents had disowned her months ago, when the court battle began. It was bad enough, in their opinion, that she was engaged to him, but at least he hid what he really was. With the court case however, their friends now all knew. So they'd given Amanda an ultimatum, them or Kurt and she chose Kurt.

At the time, Kurt had asked her if she was certain she wanted to give up her entire family for him, but she assured him it was what she wanted, after the courts had ruled, he asked her again if she wanted to try to make amends with her family but she declined. It didn't matter to her that the court ruled against them, she still loved him.

Then it was ruled that dating a mutant was really part of the same ban while the appeals process was underway. Amanda had been living at the school since the court case had begun, since she was now known publicly and they felt that she wouldn't be safe from several extremist groups on her own. No one was sure, however, if they were going to let her stay ay the mansion or if the government was going to have her removed.

Kurt,Amanda, and Xavier spent hours talking it over, while Rogue fretted over the fate of her brother and Remy tried to comfort her. In the end, Kurt pulled Rogue aside after they left the Professor's office to explain to her what they planned.

"We are leaving, Logan and Ororo are flying us out after dinner, before they can decide to send someone in to arrest Amanda or something ridiculous like that." Kurt said as soon as they were sitting in Rogue's room.

"Where will you go? Genosha?" Rogue said, extremely sad that her brother was leaving, but expecting that outcome was what would be decided in the meeting.

"No. Maybe eventually if things get bad everywhere like they did here, but for now we are returning to Germany to stay with my parents." Kurt said, sounding very sad. "I'll miss you, I wish I could take you with me."

"Nah, I'd just be in the way plus I don't speak German." Rogue said, attempting to lighten the mood with her tone.

"There's one other thing we need to talk about." Kurt said after a snort of laughter. He looked serious again as she nodded. "I know you and Remy are engaged and I know you haven't told anyone because of what's happening with me and I know you feel guilty about all this. So I'm telling you this now. I don't blame you in the slightest for any of this. I think the two of you should marry right away before they add some new law that prevents it. Elope. Now, tonight if possible. I love you and want to see you happy."

"I can't just run off and get married Kurt! I don't even know if Remy would be okay with that. Plus I have responsibilities here at the school, we're already down one teacher with you going, it wouldn't be fair of me to run off at the same time."

"So, don't take a honeymoon right now. Go get married, be back by morning, and make sure to get someone to take a few pictures so I can see it all when I get back home. You know you don't want to go on a vacation right now anyway, with Jean and Kitty both about to give birth. You wanna stay here to see the babies." Kurt said, crying Rogue hugged Kurt, thankful to have such a kindhearted and wonderful brother.

"How'd you know we were engaged anyway? We were going to wait to announce it at your wedding, then with everything that happened with you we decided now wasn't the best time. I never even wear my ring!" Rogue asked suddenly.

"You wear that ring everywhere Rogue, just around your neck instead of on your finger. Plus Logan ain't the only one around here who can hear real well what's happening in the rooms around them. I heard you guys talking about it a couple of times while you were in his room. Which shares a wall with my room, in case you forgot. " Kurt said with an eye roll.

"Ah okay. That makes sense. I'll talk to Remy, and see how he feels about the whole 'eloping' idea, but tonight still seems a bit far fetched to me." Rogue said. Then blushed as it finally sank in what Kurt said. "Wait what all have you heard?"

"If you think I want to overhear my sister and her boyfriend kissing and being all 'romantic' and stuff you're wrong. Whenever you two start kissing I turn on my Ipod or visit Bobby...though ever since Emma moved in visiting Bobby's about as fun, plus I have Amanda here now. In other words, no I have no clue what you guys actually get up to and I don't want to know." Kurt said and Rogue nodded looking a bit relieved. "I'm sure Logan hears it all though, everything that happens in this wing at least."

Rogue could tell by Kurt's smirk that he was trying to tease her and she laughed. "Well then I guess he knows all about what you and Amanda get up to too."

"Probably." Kurt said with a shrug. "But that already occurred to me months ago, plus I'm not embarrassed by my relationship."

"I'm not embarrassed by my relationship! I was embarrassed at the idea of my LITTLE brother overhearing private conversations or kissing." Rogue said defensively. " Besides Logan ain't gonna judge me none since he's still keeping him and 'Ro under-wraps and pretending no one knows."

"What do you mean?"

Rogue stared at Kurt for a full minute trying to decide if he was just teasing her again, but it didn't appear he was, he looked confused and was frowning at her over it. "Logan and Ororo have been dating forever now, they just haven't said anything." Rogue said eventually. "I thought everyone knew."

"Well I didn't. How long's 'forever' anyway?"

"I dunno. I've personally known since Logan was helping me practice, but I know Jean,Scott,Remy, Bobby, Hank, Warren, Elizabeth,Emma, Amara, Evan, Kitty, Pete, and The Professor all know. Seriously, I thought everyone knew."

"Well I didn't. But then I don't go out of my way to find things out and I don't gossip, and I'm not married or dating someone who does." Kurt said. He shook his head, before changing the subject. "Back to why this came up, you two should elope. I mean it. If you don't bring it up to him I will."

Rogue agreed to talk to Remy, and then left after one final good bye to her brother. It was going to be awhile before she saw him again so she decided not to tease or argue with him anymore. She instead hugged him and wished him luck before going off in search of her future husband. After all, Kurt was right about one thing. The only reason they hadn't announced their engagement was to spare Kurt's feeling so since he already knew it was time to let everyone else know.

~O~0~O~

They had been traveling together ever since they talked in Paris. Victor and Raven were currently in Russia, trying to decide where they were going from there. Both physically and in their relationship. With the return of his memories, Victor also remembered why he had fallen in love with her and wanted to start over, and for Raven's part she had never stopped loving him. The question however was if they could just pick up where they left off, or if to much had happened in between.

So many years,losses,lovers had passed between when they were together and now. They didn't know how to move past it all, and Raven wasn't certain if she wanted to either. She wasn't the same person who married Victor anymore than he was the same person who married her. The only thing they had managed to figure out over the last few months was that they still loved each other. She just wasn't sure if that was going to be enough to fix the problems in between them.

The man she'd married had been a soldier but the man before her was a ruthless killer. One she just discovered just last night was responsible for her daughter's abduction. He was still hunting the girl, or at least he was supposed to be instead of laying here beside her. He'd told her all that he had known,which wasn't much, he was still just following orders as he always had.

She wanted to feel angry and betrayed. In fact she did feel angry and betrayed, but at the same time she had sold this same child out not so long ago. He at least hadn't known the girl. Somehow, she realized angrily, attempting to return to her former life had also returned her sense of right and wrong. She wasn't the woman Victor married anymore either she realized with a sigh. She'd changed from a strong but loving woman into a ruthless shell who would betray anyone and everyone to get what she wanted.

How could they move past this? She wondered. And did they really have the right to happiness after everything they'd done? She knew how her children would feel about that. Sh knew Rogue at least would vote 'no'. She couldn't sleep with all this in her head, so she got up and went out to the balcony to stare at the city lights.

These last few months had been wonderful, she was almost able to pretend the years before had never happened. Then the news broadcast last night had opened this whole can of worms, and she didn't know what to do. Victor turned on the news for the first time in months and Raven rolled her eyes, having no interest in current events. They were talking about the mutant-human marriage ban in the United States when Victor grumbled. "Well I guess he's still managing to keep things as he wants them."

"Who" Raven asked , looking up. She had been reading a book and not really paying attention to the television.

"My boss. He said this was on his 'To Do' list, couldn't have us weakening our gene pool with inferior genes or some such nonsense. I only ever half listened to his rants. "

"Who is this guy? I thought Magneto retired?"

"Oh he did, he's off to lead Genosha now, according to the news." Victor said with a shake of his head. "No, bossman doesn't operate like Mags, he prefers to work from the shadows. Calls himself Sinister. It fits, trust me. "

"What kind of stuff does he have you do?" Raven said, feeling a stab of sympathy at his tone, he clearly didn't like the things this guy was doing.

"This and that, Mostly stuff that no big deal, but some of it... he ordered us to eliminate the Morlocks, but Gambit figured out what he was up to first and turned the information into the X-men. I dunno if he joined after that or if he was a spy for them though, couldn't ever figure that part out. Then he sent us after the X-men. Well some of them...remembered some other stuff since I woke up too."

"Which ones?" Raven asked, growing cold. She hadn't heard anything about either of her children being injured or killed but that wasn't something that was likely to be on the news,suddenly wishing she'd been paying attention nonetheless.

"Gambit, of course. The one that wears sunglasses all the time...Sean? Steve? No Scott. Scott's girlfriend, the redhead and Gambit's girlfriend. The one with the strange hair. You know her, she's the one you took a few years ago and Mags had me and Gambit hunt her down...I wonder if he was seeing her then? Guess it don't matter though."

"Rogue?" Raven asked quietly. "What happened to them?"

"Jimmy-Logan hunted them down and rescued Gambit and the other boy after Sinister said he was done with the girls for now and let em go. Then about a week after Graydon hired me I got word that I was to hunt them down again but I was a little busy tracking you so I ignored the message."

"...She's my daughter."

"Who?"

"Rogue. Anna Marie. She's my daughter. Gambit's girlfriend."

"And you kidnapped her?"

"It's...it's complicated. Did someone else go after them when you didn't answer?"

"I don't think so, not yet anyway. Why?"

"We should warn them. You should tell your brother who he really is while were at it."

"Yeah, we'll just stroll right up to the gate waving a white flag, that should go over well. Should we wait til after they finish shooting us or go ahead and wait for the flame throwers?" Victor said shaking his head. "Last I heard all the Acolytes joined them except me and they ain't kids anymore. We go anywhere near that mansion and it's a suicide run."

"Fine, I'll go by myself."

"Let's sleep on it, see if we can come up with a plan in the morning."

In the end Raven agreed, but for the first time since Victor remembered she turned away from him when he reached for her that night. They'd both fallen asleep upset and confused and now she couldn't even sleep. One way or another she had to contact her daughter and warn her that the danger was at hand.

"I booked us a flight, it leaves in an hour so you should pack up." Victor said from behind her. She jumped, she was shocked that he was awake. 'After you fell asleep I couldn't stop thinking about it. Sabretooth did a lot of bad over the years, but maybe I can make up for some of it. Not remembering is no excuse. Look at Jimmy, he don't remember and he protects children, while I- While I hunted them."

~O~0~O~

Rogue plucked up her courage and hunted down her fiance before her annoying interfering wonderful little brother could. In fact, she was so worked up and determined to just tell him what Kurt said, she didn't pay attention to who else was in the kitchen when she stormed in. "Remy. Kurt says we should just elope and that he already knew we were engaged and that we should just hurry up before they ban mutant marriage altogether and I think he might be right."

Before Remy could respond Logan snorted and Charles chuckled. "I guess it's a good thing Kurt already knew since you just announced it to everyone else." Remy said with a smirk.

"Oh please, like Logan and Charles didn't already know, just like I know we all know who Logan's dating but none of us is rude enough to talk about it. Don't change the subject, do you wanna elope or not?" Rogue said with a frown at the men's amusement.

"Rogue-Anna. I love you, I've wanted to marry you for months and told you over and over that Kurt wouldn't be hurt by your happiness." Remy began looking serious as everyone ignore Logan's grumbled denial about his own relationship. "I'm not going to let you ruin this for yourself though. We've talked about this over and over! You **want** a traditional wedding with all your friends and your family-your real family, these guys- surrounding you. You don't wanna sneak away in the night and reappear married in the morning."

"You're right Remy, that is what I wanted, what I want. But more than anything I want to be with you, and with the way things are going they'll end up banning marriage for our people altogether before we get a chance to plan a big wedding. I love Kurt and the truth is I don't want what happened to him to happen to us." Rogue said with tear filled eyes, she felt guilty putting it like that, even if that's how she felt. Remy hugged her to him.

"Chere, we will get our big wedding because that's what you deserve. If the law decides not to recognize it, so what? I've never been big on laws anyway. Besides if they decide to ban mutant marriage altogether they're likely to annual all marriages that already happened like they did with the mutant-human ones. Who cares? We will be married in our hearts and in the eyes of our friends and God where it really matters."

"Okay, if that's what you really think Remy. I still wanna start planning it now. Right away, before anything else can go wrong." Rogue said with a sniff.

"Okay. That works for me." Remy said with a smile.

The room was silent for a few minutes while the couple continued to hug and Charles pretended to be distracted by the curtains before Logan once again said. "I'm not dating anyone, that's crazy."

"Oh give it up Logan, everyone knows about you and Ororo. We're happy for you, and we don't care if you want to keep pretending, but don't bother lying." Rogue said. Charles and Remy both chuckled once again when Logan glared at her as Ororo walked into the room.

"Are the y ready to go yet? " Logan asked before she could say anything. Anxious to get away from the others. Logan hated talking about his personal life or his feelings to anyone, Ororo noticed his mood and decided to leave it alone for now, instead she nodded and decided to ask him about it on their way back when they were alone.

Rogue pulled the chain from around her neck and placed her ring on her finger as she joined the others to see her brother off. Now that Kurt announced to her that he knew about it she saw no reason to keep it hidden. The rest of the original X-men, and the New Mutants, were waiting downstairs to see Kurt and Amanda off when they arrived. It was a tear filled fair-well all around.

Rogue approached her brother last, to hug him good bye. He hugged her tightly before saying loudly. "Everyone should know My sister is getting married, and I'm stealing her chance to announce it since I can't be here to annoy her at the wedding. Consider that my 'obnoxious sibling interference' I love you Rogue, don't forget what I said before."

Rogue just rolled her eyes and nodded. After all, he was right, he wouldn't be able to be here for her wedding, and she saw no reason to tell him they already decided not to elope upstairs. She wiped her tears away as the plane departed before turning to the remaining X-men to be engulfed in their well wishes.

* * *

A/N: I know this chapter was very drama centered and a bit silly at times (though I meant it to be light hearted family conversation) it ran a little (lot) long and the second half that I wrote for it is next week's chapter with more of the characters involved...I'm releasing this chapter a few days early thanks to a busy schedule. Thank you to everyone still reading... next week we'll see how poorly Victor and Raven's arrival goes,lol.


	27. Chapter 27

_What is to Come_

 _Chapter Twenty_ _Seven_

Shortly after Logan, Ororo, Kurt, and Amanda left Rogue decided it was time to announce her engagement. Everyone remaining was in the lounge watching a movie while the kids were in the rec room either watching tv or playing various games. She decided this was the best time. So she waled into the lounge and paused the movie, to the protest of both Bobby and Ray. Jean and Kitty looked confused, Charles and Emma were amused, and the rest just looked at her expectantly, assuming (incorrectly) that something important had occurred outside their walls.

"You have terrible timing."Remy said with amusement, the movie had reached the point of the 'important fight scene' when she came in. "Decided now was a good time to let everyone in the loop,Cherie?"

"Yes, actually."Rogue said as Remy shrugged and stood next to her. "Everyone, Remy and I have an announcement to make-"

"You decided to get matching tattoos?" Bobby interrupted with a joke.

"You found the lost city of Atlantis?" Ray decided to chime in.

"You decided to kill the idiots?" Elizabeth added.

"No, no, and maybe." Rogue said with a sigh. "I wanted to say: Remy and I decided to get married."

Everyone cheered before Bobby felt the need to point out that everyone had already figured out they were engaged weeks ago earning him a glare from Remy, a smack upside the head from Rogue, and a slap on the arm from his girlfriend. "Ow, what'd I do? It's true we all knew!"

"You don't ruin the bride's announcement." Emma said. "It's in poor taste. I thought we had worked past your lack of refinement Robert."

"Uh-oh...Robert?" Bobby said, now aware that she was actually annoyed with him, it was the only time she was so formal with him anymore. "I'm sorry Rogue, for being an unthinking little toad. I'll make it up to you."

Everyone ignored Ray's 'whipped' noise as Emma said. "Congratulations again you decided on a date?"

"Thank you, no not yet, but we are thinking as soon as possible. "Rogue said, completely ignoring Bobby and Ray's antics in favor of the rest of the groups excitement for her.

A few minutes later, after everyone had settled back down and returned to the movie, Rogue and Remy slipped from the room to further discuss their upcoming wedding. No one noticed, or cared, about the couple's departure.

~O~0~O~

Nathan Christopher Summers arrived early the next morning to the excitement of the entire school when his birth was announced at breakfast, along with the announcement of the engagement of two of their teachers. In celebration of both events (and with Logan's current absence) all training sessions were canceled for the day, and classes were designed to be fun and celebratory.

Any of the student body who may have lacked excitement over the previous two announcements were certainly excited over what was essentially a free day. That was until the arrival of the former enemies at the front gate. The students were all sent downstairs to the danger room, and the elevators locked, before Charles invited the pair inside. Much to the protest of the staff, especially Rogue and Remy.

"I understand how you feel on this matter, and I agree. However, they do not come to cause trouble, they come with warnings." said Charles, who had taken the libraty of reading their intentions, if not their actual information. "However, in light of your last encounter with Sabretooth, I think it may be best that you, and the Rasputins stay out of the room for now."

Rogue,Remy, Kitty, and Piotr agreed and left the room, but Scott insited on staying. If there was any danger to his wife or son he wanted to know first hand. A few minutes later, Sabretooth and Mystique entered the room. They were both dressed casually in jeans and light sweaters, causing several of the others to relax slightly, after all, generally people didn't cause trouble while dressed in street clothes on their usual enemy list.

"We've come to warn you, all the way from our vacation in Russia, of a pending threat that I only just learned of last night...yesterday...recently. Sorry time-zoned jet lag." Raven said.

"Please continue, Mystique." Charles said with a nod.

"Please, at least for now, call me Raven." Raven said, Charles nodded in agreement. " The man you know a Mr. Sinister had ordered the recapture of a few of your people Charles. Namely Jean, and her unborn child."

"How do you know this." Charles asked as he raised his hand to the uproar this announcement caused.

"Because, he ordered me to do it." Victor said. "Six months ago. I igmored him, for reasons of my own, but I feel that he may have figured that out recently."

Several people, including Scott and Bobby, as well as Amara and Emma immediately yelled for them to have to leave, however once again Charles raised his hand to silence the group. "Why did you ignore this order Victor?"

"Well. At first it was because I was busy tracking down Raven, then..." Victor said,shifting uncomfortably. He was still not comfortable talking about feeling, but then he never was even before his lost his memory. "Then, I remembered who I used to be and have been busy exploring that path. To be honest, I'd nearly forgotten the order until recently. The more I remember, the worse it gets. The thing is, Sinister, my current employer. It turns out, if I'm remembering this latest bit correctly, and I'm sure I am, he's the one who made me forget everything to begin with. I have more information for you too, but I was also... I need to talk to Wolverine, but I assume he isn't currently here since I'm still standing here. Will he be back soon?"

"We expect him anytime now, yes. Meanwhile, why don't you brief us on the rest of your information?" Charles said. He sensed the restlessness of his X-men and knew they wouldn't tolerate Sabretooth's presence for much longer, not to mention Logan's reaction when he returned. Charles felt it was best to get whatever important information Victor planned on sharing before the situation deteriorated further.

Victor realized the same thing, and knew that his time was short before they stopped listening altogether, so he briefly gave them a summery of everything he knew about Sinsiter's involvement in recent events as well as handing Charles a notebook he'd filled on the flight over with everything he remembered learning in detail. Though Charles was willing to hear the couple out, and give them a chance to explain everything, the rest of the X-men were happy to see the couple leave shortly after arriving. Victor did ask that they give Logan a message before he left. When Charles agreed he said only. "Tell him I found the answers he's looking for, and I'm willing to share, if he comes to find me. I ain't going far for now so he can."

"Is my daughter or son here?" Raven asked, just before they left.

"I'm afraid at the moment I can not give you that information Raven. I will tell them you asked for them, but that is entirely up to them if they wish to speak to you." Charles said in a sad voice. Raven nodded and offered him a slip of paper containing her number, and asked he pass it on to them.

The couple then made it as far as the rental car before seemingly out of nowhere Logan roared and jumped onto Victor, knocking him sideways into the fountain. Victor held the smaller man off, without attacking himself at first, but eventually slashed out as wel, as they rolled across the lawn.

"I didn't come here to fight ya." Victor growled as he threw Logan off of himself once more and into the statue above the fountain with enough force to crack it.

"Then you shouldn't have come here at all!" Logan roared back as he stood and shook the marble chips from his hair before advancing on the other man again. " You took four of my kids, how many did you come for this time?"

"None! I came to warn ya!" Victor said, once again holding the other man off. "Sinister's gunning for em again, but I'm out of it! I ain't been involved since the last time he took em!"

Logan didn't hear him in his rage, not that he would have cared to listen anyway which is what Raven and the others watching realized. Raven therefore started the car, and gestured for Victor to joined her as she yelled that he could try again later. Victor reluctantly jumped into the car. Logan chased after them, but on foot he lost them just past the gate as Charles mentally called him back.

Logan reluctanly returned to the mansion, but only to find out if Victor had caused any damage or taken anyone else. Charles assured him that Victor and Raven had come to give a warning, not create trouble, and that no one had been harmed. He then told Logan that Victor said to come find him and that Victor knew something of his past.

Logan got on his bike and prepared to leave stating that he would hunt Victor down and 'find out what he was really after.' Charles sighed and returned his attention to the rest of the group, who he was disappointed to discover, were as ready to fight as Logan was. Ororo prevented Logan's departure, by standing in front of his bike, and informing him that the girls needed him told everyone to return to their duties and retired to his office to read the notes.

~O~0~O~

It took some coaxing, but eventually, Logan managed to calm down enough to come inside the mansion. He noticed as soon as he entered the building that Remy,Rogue, and Scott's stress levels were elevated. Remy was on the verge of a panic attack, though no one else noticed, Rogue was practically catatonic, which everyone had noticed, and Scott was pacing the room and ranting.

This did nothing to improve Logan's mood. These young adults were his ids as far as he was concerned, and a single visit from an old enemy had thrown them back months in their emotional health. Despite Ororo's pleading it was too much for him so shortly after they finally managed to talk him inside Logan was roaring out of the garage on his motorcycle in search of the man who caused the trouble.

He searched the city and soon found the couple, who weren't trying to hide, near by in a motel off the highway just outside of town. Even Logan's bike sounded angry as he pulled into the paring lot and was greeted by the sight of his oldest enemy standing at an open door waiting for him. "I knew you would come." Victor said, sounding almost tired.

"Good for you, yet you didn't bother to hide." Logan growled as he rushed toward the other man intent on bodily harm.

"I aint gonna fight you til you hear me out Logan." Victor said, dodging the smaller man. "I left you a message which you clearly didn't get. I found out who you are! I found out who we both are."

"Good for you, I hope you wrote it down because you won't be saying shit for a very long time. Ever if I can help it!" Logan said as he swung at the taller man.

"Listen to me!This was Sinister! All of it!" Victor said angrily."He turned us against each other, he planned this whole thing. He took everything from us! From you, from me! Then he used me to further his goals. "

"You made your own choices no matter what he did to you!" Logan yelled, as Victor continued to dodge him.

"I know that Damn it!" Victor yelled, suddenly standing still. "I now that. As I said to Raven, I have no excuse! Look at you, they did just as much to you and you protect others while I hunt them! That's on me! But the fact remains you have every right to know what I found out so listen to me for five minutes!"

"You have two." Logan said. Despite himself answers were what he had sought for so long that he couldn't help listening when someone,anyone suggested they might have some.

"To begin with, we're brothers. Well half brothers, but brothers nonetheless. You got caught up in this whole mess trying to save me after I was kidnapped. That was over twenty years ago. Then they made us forget everything. Essex let us all out, then he recaptured me. He's been telling me what to do for years, all along. He had me join Magneto even, just to find out what the other man was planning. Then I saw Raven a few months ago. Smelled her actually, and it started to come back so I abandoned Sinister's employ and went after her until she finally told me everything she knew. Eventually I remembered everything and as soon as I did I came to warn you all. He's been locking away my memories for so long I don't now if I've remembered everything now or not, but I had to tell you."

"You're not actually trying to tell me that you don't remember attacking Remy? Or kidnapping my kids? Or working for not one but two villains just recently? " Logan said despite sensing he was being told the truth.

"No, I do remember, now"Victor said." However, every time I protested any official order, my memory got wiped, and I did as I was told, I can't explain it exactly. It's still completely on me what I've done, I ain't makin excuses. I've done terrible things... I don't expect you to forgive me. I just wanted to let you know what I remembered, who you are. We can't go back to the way things were, we both know that."

"You're right about one thing, there's not going to be any 'water under the bridge' kinda crap after everything that's been done. I ain't sure I even buy this story of yours. I'll tell you this though, If anything or anyone comes for my kids, I'm holding you responsible."

"That's what I came to warn you about! They are coming for your kids!" Victor growled in frustration. "You need to go home and watch them carefully, I don't know when they're coming because I've been flying below the radar for months, but I know they're coming. Your name is James Howlett. You were born in Alberta Canada. With that you you should be able to piece together the rest of your history, and if you find the right trigger it should all come back like it did for me. Good luck Jimmy, I hope everything works out."

Logan was divided on how to respond. He felt an urgency to get home, in case the others were in danger, but he also had more questions, and he also still had not ruled out attacking Victor. In the end he decided to head home, and look into the information he had been given. He wasn't going to believe anything from Victor until he confirmed it. He wasn't going to take any risks as far as the threat to the 'kids' went however.

~O~0~O~

After Logan left,Scott had gone downstairs to sit with his wife and new son. Rogue and Remy had finally calmed down and gone upstairs to hide in Remy's room, and the rest of the staff sent the kids to do various chores.

Ororo watched from her room for Logan's return, certain that he would be upset, and that he would refuse to talk about whatever it was that he'd learned from the other man. Bobby,Warren, Emma, and Elizabeth had filled her in on what the couple had said when they arrived, along with the reactions of the former kidnap victims and the Professor. Now she just had to wait, She wasn't going to let anyone know that she was waiting for him however, despite Logan telling her on their way back that 'everyone' knew about their relationship, neither of them were comfortable with confirming it yet.

Logan arrived home nearly an hour after he left, calmer but still visibly angry. The only one who approached him was Kitty, knowing that there was no way he would be mean to her no matter how foul his mood. "Did you find out if it was true?" Kitty said as she laid a protective hand across her enlarged stomach. "Does that madman intend to come back for our babies? That's what Scott was saying before he went downstairs."

"I don't know for certain, Half-Pint. I know Sabretooth said he's out of it, not that I believe him, but other than that he only said that the ones they took before need to be watched so I think you and your baby are safe no matter what."

Kitty nodded, not comforted by this at all as she went in search of her husband. Logan sighed as he watched her go. He knew he hadn't eased her fears, but he couldn't lie to her. For all he knew, Sinister was coming for them all. Charles had the file, he would know better than the rest...but Logan wanted to try to find out if there was any truth to what he had been told of his own history.

Eventually, after standing at the bottom of the stairs undecided for several minutes Logan decided that Charles would call him when there was anything to reveal and went toward his room and laptop to see if he could find anything on 'James Howlett'.

Ororo had seen him arrive and was waiting for him in his room, having used the wind to carry herself to his balcony without being seen. He wasn't surprised to see her standing in the doorway as he came in and with a nod invited her to sit. "Gotta look some stuff up. I'll let you know if I know anything as soon as I can about the kids."

"Did you fight him?" Ororo asked. "Is he here to cause trouble?"

"I didn't sense any lies off of him, so I doubt it at the moment, but that don't mean he won't be back to stir it up again later. For now he just wanted to pass on information, so I let em go with only a few injuries."

Ororo nodded, and Logan sat down to start his research. He may have kept up on technology and was used to using it as a resource however, he wasn't sure how long this would take given the lack of details he was working with to start with. He honestly didn't even know a time frame to look for, which gave it a very wide field. He knew he could ask for help from Kitty the resident tech support if he needed to but this was something he wanted to do on his own. He had a very strong feeling that he wasn't going to like what he dug up. He still was on the fence on if he believed any of Sabretooth's story at all.


	28. Chapter 28

What is to Come

Chapter Twenty Eight

Kelly was scared, though he would never admit it. Creed had been murdered, Trask and HE were planning something, new groups were popping up all the time. This whole thing had snowballed out of his control. It occurred to him, as he made his way to the bottom of a bottle of brandy, that he'd never been in control to begin with. It had all been an illusion, and he was no longer needed. That above all else was what frightened him. Creed had outlived his usefulness and look what happened to him. It was true that Sinister, as he was now calling his benefactor, claimed to have nothing to do with Creed's death and in fact seemed very angry about it.

Though his anger seemed to stem from the argument he and Creed had been in before Creed's death. Sinister blamed Creed for using Sinister's favorite 'pet' without permission and it had somehow slipped away. Kelly knew very little about the situation, since he only knew what he had overheard, but from the sounds of it, a very dangerous and unstable project had escaped Sinister and Sinister had no idea where it might be. If Kelly wasn't already so afraid of everything else falling apart, the idea of such a creature running around loose would terrify him. As it was the idea of it alarmed him.

At one point, he asked Sinister for a description so he could have his MRD agents keep an eye out for it, but Sinister informed him that it was nothing to do with him and would give him no further information. Kelly didn't even now if the creature in question was male or female, or if it looked human or was deformed...he knew nothing really, but feared the havoc it could cause both for the populace and his political career.

He'd done everything Sinister had ordered! He even pushed through the marriage act, even though it was possibly career suicide! The least the other man could do was keep him in the loop. Instead he got a figrative part on the head and told not to worry about it, as if he were a child who's mother was comforting him after a scary dream. He was insulted, but couldn't think of a way around all this. He was in to deep to just cut off contact, and any attempt to expose Sinister would be his own downfall, so despite his clear misery he would continue to follow orders, and he would continue to slowly drink himself to death because he was afraid.

~O~0~O~

Wanda and John had recently returned to the palace following their honeymoon on the far side of the island, when they learned about the latest troubles happening with their friends. Kurt had contacted Todd to let him now that he was no longer in the mansion, or country. The two had become friends since high school, and he didn't want Todd to be concerned when he couldn't reach Kurt at the mansion. Todd in turn informed Wanda and Pietro of Kurt's troubles. Pietro told his father what happened, and Wanda called Rogue to check in on them.

Rogue told her about Sabretooth's visit and claims about the impending danger. Wanda's reaction, understandably, was to suggest that those who were on their list come to Genosha. "We can protect you all, you can stay in the palace. No one, not even this 'Sinister' would dare attack the palace. No one who cross my father like that."

"That's not entirely true. I appreciate the offer, and I'll of course let Kitty and Jean know, but for me and Remy, I think we're better waiting here for now." Rogue said. "Logan ain't going to let anything happen to us. He ain't lettin anyone off the grounds alone right now."

"That's no way to live though Rogue, if you came here, you could be safe, and still go places. You could be safe and free at the same time. I think you all should come, after what happened with Kurt and this guy hunting you all, and the restrictions they keep adding ,and everything else." Wanda said. This wasn't the first time she'd tried to talk the residents of Xavier's to join them, nor would it be the last, but she wasn't surprised when Rogue said no either. To change the subject, Rogue told Wanda of her engagement, and the recent births of Nathan Summers and Meredith Rasputin.

In turn Wanda told Rogue about the upcoming arrival of Pietro and Crystal's child, and the expansions of the island government, and her wedding. She had hoped Rogue would come to the wedding, but understood why Rogue wouldn't. Rogue had, at the time, said the next wedding she attended would be her brother's and that she refused to go to anyone else's first. Wanda had heard from Todd that Kurt would be getting married the next day, so Wanda assumed that Rogue would be attending, and it was why she was finally announcing their engagement. Like several others Wanda had already known, unlike most of them it was because Rogue had told her. Rogue was excited and felt that she had to tell someone, so that she wouldn't accedinatally tell anyone else. Had she known they would all figure it out, she would have handled it the same way, because even now she felt guilty being so unhappy over everything that's happened.:"

Meanwhile, Erik and called Charles and had gotten the full story of wat happened when they were warned about Sinister. Charles told him everything Victor had said to him and part of what he had said to Logan. Erik was understandably upset to learn that ,years ago now, Sinister had planted Victor in his ranks as a spy. He understood, far better than his daughter, why it was a bad idea to just try to hide the former idnap victims on Genosha. After all, it was entirely possible that there were additional spies on the island. Perhaps even in the palace though he felt paranoid even thinking this. He was concerned for the safety of his children, above all else, and the safety of the haven he was trying to create.

Both men were glad that the other saw their side of things, for the first time in years. Eri saw the need for the school, and to continue to recruit the newest mutants to it. Charles, though he still believed that one day they would peacefully coexist finally saw a need for Genosha. One day, Genosha would not be needed, he hoped, but for now it was somewhere mutants and their families could go to be safe.

~O~0~O~

Logan agreed (reluctantly) to fly Remy and Rogue to Germany to attend Kurt's wedding. This was only after Charles agreed that the other four would remain inside the mansion the entire time they were gone, and Rogue agreed they would only stay for a few hours, for the wedding and reception. Kurt was disappointed his sister would not be staying longer, but understood and agreed when Logan explained it to him. In fact, when Logan told him what happened, Kurt tired to tal Rogue out of coming at all because he was afraid for her.

Rogue however informed him of her vow that the next wedding she would attend would be his, and had steadfastly refused to listen to any further arguments. Kurt had already agreed to return to New York for his sister's wedding that was scheduled for a week following his own.

Logan was on edge the entire time they were gone, and never let the couple out of his sight. Remy normally would have protested this, but he was concerned for Rogue's safety and sanity, so he agreed to everything Logan said. Rogue had been angrier about it until Remy sat down and explained to her what he was afraid of, she then agreed without further fighting. The last thing the couple wanted was to be angry with each other, especially as they had no idea when they next attack would occur, or where.

The wedding was without indecent, though Kurt sadly informed Rogue at the reception that Anti-Mutant sentiment was on the rise in Germany as well. His parents owned a small bakery, and twice since his return it had been vandalized. He was determined that if it happened again he and Amanda would be moving to Genosha. He just hoped he could talk his parents into joining them there. Anti-Human sentiment was forbidden on Genosha, a fact that was surprising to everyone who'd dealt with Magneto over the years. However, between his daughter-in-law and Mrs. Leech and the Gurthies, he had grown far more tolerant.

Shortly after the reception, which Logan spent grumbling in a corner, they were back on the Blackbird on the way home. "Well, I hope you enjoyed the trip, cause we ain't doin that again." Logan said to the couple in the back.

"Well aren't you just a pocket full of sunshine." Rogue grumbled back, to which Remy raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

When Rogue just glared at him in return, he couldn't hold in the chuckle anymore. Logan meanwhile, continued to glower up front. He couldn't help it, he was convinced that something terrible had happened at home while he was away. "it ain't funny" Rogue said after Remy tried to control his laughter and failed.

"Oui, it is. You said 'Pocket full of sunshine.' What's that even mean?" Remy said as he continued to laugh.

"It means, Imma kick your butt next DR if you don't knock it off!" Rogue said as she crossed her arms.

"Awe, don' be like that cherie." Remy said as he finally sobered and attempted to put his arm around her shoulders. She shrugged him off with a glare, and moved slightly away from him.

"You're making fun of me, you don't get to touch me." Rogue said, crossing her arms. "Weren't you paying attention to what Kurt said at all? Things are getting bad everywhere. I'm worried about my brother and you're cracking jokes over a phrase."

"An you're scared and taking it out on me."Remy said with a nod. Rogue rolled her eyes, but before she could respond Logan hit the auto pilot and stood up.

"I've had it with both of you. Yes things are bad everywhere, especially at home. Yes, Gumbo was laughing at you, get over it. Yes Stripes is stressed and being sensitive, again get over it. I don't watch soap operas and don't need one while I'm trying to fly so just be silent the rest the trip if ya can't get along."

With that Logan sat back down and both Southerners made a rude hand gesture at him ,but were no longer arguing. Logan informed them that he had seen them, then joined them in their silence. The rest of the trip was spent in mostly silence with occasional mild comments from one of the three regarding nothing of importance. Luckily the couple was no longer angry with each other, and quietly began talking about their own upcoming wedding again just before they arrived in New York.

Logan tuned them out, and continued to worry that something was wrong at home.

~O~0~O~

When Kelly reached the bottom of his fourth bottle, he realized he was done. There was no way to walk away from all of this, but he was simply done. He couldn't take anymore of it. Trask had called him about thirty minutes before, to inform him that the next stage of their project was ready. They planned to microchip all the mutants on the registration list to better track them. They also intended to include a very powerful birth control in the injection without informing those they were injecting.

It was a good plan, Kelly and Trask had agreed that that it was the next logical step in controlling and containing the problem. Sinister heard about the plan somehow, because Kelly had wisely kept in him the dark about the full project. As soon as Sinister learned about it, he came in to veto the birth control part. He was fine, happy in fact, with the micro-chipping, but he steadfastly insisted that they were not to interfere with the mutants reproducing.

Sinister informed Kelly that mutants breeding was imperative to his plans and therefore he (Kelly) was to inform Trask that the secret ingredient of the serum was to be removed immediately before shipment. Reluctantly Kelly had made the phone call, which had confused Trask at first, until Kelly said that they needed to run the first line of microchips as just the tracing devices to ensure everything worked correctly before moving forward. When Trask asked what they would do with the first round then to keep them from breeding. Kelly looked to Sinister, but thinking quickly he informed Trask that they would just have to bring them all back in, and tell them the chip was faulty in some way. Trask agreed that it was a good plan as long as they could round them all back up. Kelly had hung up shortly after this, and Sinister left, reminding him on the way out that he (Sinister) was always watching.

That was when Kelly realized he was done. He wanted out more than anything. Sinister always knew everything, seemingly before they even thought it. Kelly couldn't go on like this, so he wrote a nice long letter to his staff, opened a fifth bottle and began to search for the bottom, completely ignoring the bitterness the power he'd added. By the bottom of the last bottle he was passed out, and by the time anyone thought to wake him it was to late. He found his freedom, at last. Sinister would be annoyed when he discovered the loss of a second pawn so quickly, but it wouldn't hinder his plans, simply a minor inconvenience to the madman who had far greater reach than anyone knew.

~O~0~O~

Bobby wasn't sure what woke him, at first. Then he heard a second time, Emma whisper his name. He turned over to see his girlfriend sitting on the edge of his bed with red eyes and a frown on her face. He moved over, inviting her to join him wordlessly. She hesitated for a moment, which confused him before slipping under the covers and into his arms.

"Is everything okay?" Bobby asked, already falling back to sleep despite his concern.

"Bobby, I want you to know that I love you." Emma said.

"I know, I love you too." Bobby mumbled.

"I want you to promise me that you'll remember that, no matter what happens,okay?" Emma said with a slight quiver in her voice.

"Of course,darling." Bobby said. "I love you, always. No matter what. Don' worry though, nothing's gonna happen to us."

"...I know, just don't forget." Emma whispered as he drifted back to sleep hoping he calmed her fears.

When Bopbby's alarm went off a couple of hours later he was alone. He wasn't sure if the visit from Emma the night before had even happened or if it was part of a dream . He got up and dressed, planning to visit her room to make sure she was alright.

Before he got farther than the landing the alarm system activated, sending strobe lights of color and loud blaring through out the school, waking anyone still in bed. Bobby went the rest of the way down the stairs, assuming he would meet Emma in the war room, and talk about whatever had been bothering her after they dealt with whatever was happening now.

Remy, Rogue and Logan had just arrived home a few minutes earlier and were the first arrivals , followed by Bobby, then the new parents Jean,Scott, Kitty, and Piotr, followed by Xavier. Everyone else came in a few minutes later after Logan had already left following a silent conversation with the Professor. No one else knew what was happening until the Professor pulled an image onto the screen.

They watched in horror as Logan slowly walked toward Jubilee, Angelo, and five unknown mutants in their early teens all hanging the front lawn, nailed to to sign that was illegible with the bodies in the way. As several of the girls, and a few of the men broke down in tears, Bobby looked around and asked if anyone had seen Emma.


	29. Chapter 29

What is to Come

Chapter Twenty Nine

When Logan reached them, he realized instantly that Jubilee was still alive, though barely. It was to late for the other six . He too the time to make sure that whoever had done this was indeed gone before carefully pulling Jubilee down. He left the others for now as he rushed the injured girl toward the mansion.

The other X-men met him at the door, where he gently placed her on the gurney Hank had brought up. He saw the unspoken question in the doctor's eyes and shoo his head, they wouldn't be needing Hank to rush back up for a second patient. He then turned to the others. "The way's clear, we need to get them down now before anything else can happen. Magma, Iceman,Bezerker, Sunspot, Mutlible, Wolfsbane you're with me. Grab a gurney and come on, the rest of you stay here and watch those monitors for trouble."

Amara, Bobby, Ray, Roberto, Jamie, and Rhane followed him outside. Remy, Rogue, Scott, and Piotr watched from the doorway as Charles, Sam, and Kitty went to the monitors. Jean had been placed in charge of the students as well as her son and Kitty's daughter. Soon however, Ororo arrived to take her place as she informed her gently that she was needed downstairs to aide Hank.

As quickly as they could they removed the bodies and returned to the mansion pushing the gurneys, then the mansion was sealed as Logan announced everyone was accounted for and began wheeling the first gurney toward the elevator. This was when Bobby stepped ahead of him. "No, Logan, Emma's missing. We need to figure out if she's on the grounds outside somewhere before we lock down! Whoever did this could have her and-"

"She left kid, this morning, about three hours ago." Logan said. "Talk to Chuck, I gotta take care of this, the kids don't need to see this. Hell, I wish none of ya had seen this."

Bobby was confused as he turned and marched into the security room to talk to Charles. Charles was watching the live feed with the help of Sam and Kitty was watching the previous footage to try to see if they captured any clear images of who did this. "Professor, Logan just said Emma left this morning. If she's out we can't lock down, whoever did this might get her when she comes back and-"

"Ms. Frost will not be returning I'm afraid. "Charles said. "She informed me this morning that she feels her powers and temperament are better suited to a different path. She's left Robert."

"Emma wouldn't just leave without telling me!" Bobby exclaimed before remembering the strange visit the night before. Perhaps that had been her way of telling him, she had been rather upset after all. He was confused still though. Why had she gone out of her way to assure him she loved him but not said anything about leaving? He felt there was more going on here than he was being told.

"We shall discuss this further later Robert. At the moment the situation is our priority. Now why don't you go help Ororo with the students? "The Professor said, clearly dismissing him. Bobby nodded, but instead of heading toward the danger room where all of the kids were, he went toward the medlab to see if there was any news on Jubilee. She had been his friend for years, after all and he was worried. She hadn't looked good at all when Logan brought her inside.

He entered the medlab to find chaos. Jean and Hank were no where to be seen, but the others who had been helping Logan were now trying to find a place for the sheet covered gurneys as monitors from behind a curtain were beeping loudly and Logan was gathering various supplies. Bobby asked if they need any help and if there was any word on Jubilee, to which Logan growled that they were working on it and he could help by going to keep the kids calm. There were already to many people in the medlab before he arrived.

~O~0~O~

Hours passed with everyone waiting anxiously for news about their former teammate. Hank,Jean, and Logan had taken her into surgery while under Charles direction the other's were set in a cool room off the medlab until something better could be arranged. Kitty had eventually put Nathan and Meridith to bed shortly after dinner, and the students had all returned to their rooms a little while after that, but still the majority of the staff waited , or monitored the security cameras.

They had gone over the prior footage carefully, only to discover that the men who had done this were all completely covered in black when they'd entered the property. The had been no clue to their actual identities. Logan was anxious to start tracking these attackers before the rain could start, Ororo was holding the weather off as long as she could.

Finally, twelve hours after the surgery began, Hank informed Logan he was no longer needed, and he left in search of those who did this. Hank then went upstairs long enough to inform the others that it appeared Jubilee was stable. He told them all solemnly that if she survived the night, she was likely to pull through.

With this announcement, Charles insisted everyone return to their rooms. He knew he couldn't order them to sleep, but he strongly suggested that they try, especially Jean who had been involved in the surgery, assisting Hank. Logan's role had been a combination nurse/blood donor. However Jean had acted under Hank's guidance as a second surgeon through out most of the day. She was physically and emotionally exhausted. Kitty offered to keep baby Nathan overnight, which Jean reluctantly accepted to the surprise of everyone that was still awake.

Remy insisted Rogue share his room, not caring about propriety to the students as much as her safety. He felt they would both sleep better that way, he new he wouldn't sleep at all unless she was beside him so that he knew she hadn't been taken in the night. They fell asleep side by side,holding each other's hand much like frightened children at the idea of what had happened in their front yard that morning.

Likewise, Kitty and Piotr decided they wouldn't be able to sleep with their daughter even as far away as the alcove that was her nursery in the corner of their room. For the first time since her birth, they put their baby, and Nathan, in the bed between them, before falling into a light sleep that was disturbed at the slightest twitch of either infant or spouse.

At Scott's insistence, Jean too the sedative Hank offered her, not wanting undo stress to lead to another 'incident' . After she fell into a heavy medicated sleep her husband laid beside her for hours, unable to sleep himself. The events of the day replaying in his mind.

Warren and Elizabeth retired to their own rooms, though Elizabeth slipped into Warren's shortly after he turned out the light utilizing the shadows as her mode of transport. Like the others the traumatized couple clung to each other for comfort.

Hank stayed in the lab, falling asleep at his desk with an alarm on his phone set to wake him every two hours to check on Jean. He was exhausted beyond measure but refused to even consider returning to his room while she was still so fragile, even when Ororo offered to sit with her and call him if anything changed.

When Hank refused her offer, and suggested she try to rest, Ororo returned to the security room to watch the monitors and await Logan's return. When she realized that she might drift off she set an alarm to sound if there was any movement on the grounds and like Hank fell into a light sleep in her chair.

Charles had gone to his office to await word. Though he had ordered everyone to bed, he wasn't surprised when twenty minutes later Bobby appeared in his office wanting to know about Emma. Charles sighed tiredly.

"Bobby, I am afraid Emma decided that life with the X-men wasn't what she was looking for. She was contacted a few days ago by Sebastian Shaw who offered her a place in the Club. She accepted. I couldn't force her to stay, neither could you."

"Why wouldn't she say anything to me if she planned on leaving?" Bobby demanded, not believing she would willingly leave like that. "How can we be sure they didn't force her to come or something? What is this 'Club' anyway?"

"Emma spoke to me about it Bobby, I believe it was her choice freely. The Club is a group of elite mutants, all very cultured, which we know is the world she came from. I believe that is why she felt they were a better match." Charles said. "They have approached me in the past, and I do not feel that they put her in any danger. I'm sorry Bobby, but this was her choice."

Bobby nodded, but didn't agree with Xavier. He still remembered how upset she was this morning, how she wanted to assure him that she loved him and something about not believing anything he heard... he would talk to Logan when he returned. Bobby still believed that she was somehow forced into this group not of her own will.

~O~0~O~

Logan had tracked the men who had been at the school for a few hours before he found them, or rather what was left of them. He growled in frustration his revenge had been stolen from him. He then took note of who had been here, to see who had taken his revenge from him.

He ignored the blood and remains of the men, it appeared to be five or six of them, though it was hard to say given their condition. He wasn't surprised, after seeing the scene to realize Victor had been here, Logan wasn't sure what involvement Victor had to this beyond being the one who killed them but he would be sure to ask when he hunted him down. What did surprise him however, was as he was leaving he realized Laura had been here as well, not inside the warehouse where he found the remains, but as far as the door.

As he followed he trail, he quickly realized she was following Victor's and that both trails were fresh, less than thirty minutes had passed since they'd left the warehouse. Though it had been much earlier when Victor had entered. Logan trailed them quickly, finding that it was clearly going back to where he'd found Victor before. Logan arrived in the parking lot less than ten minutes after he left the warehouse.

"They are both in the room." Laura said from the shadows. "I followed him as he tracked those men, then here. I waited until he was following them, I wanted to ensure they didn't return to the grounds while you were all preoccupied."

"When did you arrive at the school?" Logan asked, wondering how he had missed her scent.

"I was watching from near by, I arrived his morning. I intended to ask if I may stay at the school as you offered previously. Then I saw the men getting into a van and driving away. I began to approach the school at that time, after I realized what the men had left however the shape shifter must have been watching as well because she intentionally set off the alarm, then flew away. Then the other one arrived and began following the trail of the van and I decided to follow him."

Logan nodded before turning to the door he knew to be the room the couple was staying in. He pounded on the door hard enough to knock it open. Raven and Victor were both just sitting there on the edge of the bed as if they were waiting for him, which they probably were.

"I killed them all, and I won't apologize for it Jimmy." Victor said as Logan closed the door. "I saw what they did to your kids, and for that I am sorry I didn't wait for you, but I am not sory I killed them. Trying to start over doesn't mean letting those men live."

"They hurt one of my kids, and they killed five others, including another one of mine. We ain't even sure she's gonna make it through the night. I'm glad ya killed em cause I was gonna. Why'd ya go after em though? Did you work for em or something?" Logan said.

"No. They worship the man who stole our lives from us, and they killed my son." Victor said. " I just- I couldn't let it go, not even long enough for you to seek your revenge. They took everything from me. From you. From anyone and everyone either of us ever cared about. They even took us from each other. Then, they killed my son. My child! How would you feel if they killed that little girl beside you Logan? Would you really wait for me to take them out or would you rip them all apart the moment you saw them?"

Logan had no response to this. He was satisfied however that the couple were not involved in what happened this morning which was his reason for coming inside. He nodded at this man who had been his enemy as far back as he could remember. A man who from everything he'd learned was his friend and brother before their lives were torn apart. They could never go back, but if Victor was serious about changing they could move forward. Never friends, but perhaps no longer enemies. For today at least he was going to walk away.

"C'mon Laura, let's go home." Logan said as he led the girl away. Victor didn't try to follow him,or explain himself further, they simply parted way with the unspoken understanding that they were, for now at least, in a truce.

~O~0~O~

Charles waited until late to contact Genosha. By morning rumors of what happened would be on the news and he needed to tell Erik first hand the situation. Logan had come into his office to inform him that Laura requested to stay before leading the girl to a spare room for the night. With Logan's return the mansion seemed calmer as several residents who had been silently waiting for his return settled in for the night.

When Charles was certain that everyone was settled, either asleep or about to sleep, or otherwise distracted so that he would not be interrupted again Charles finally called Erik. They spoke for several hours in regards to everything that had happened, and Erik offered both additional medical staff as a loan and to shuttle more of the residents to Genosha if they wished to leave. Charles agreed to pass the message on to his people, and thanked Erik for his help. Erik reminded Charles that he, along with his daughter, son-in-law, and few others would be attending the wedding in two days, so leaving behind the temporary staff and taking who wanted to leave could be co-orientated to occur at the same time. Charles agreed, feeling mildly guilty that he had temporarily forgotten the upcoming wedding in light of everything that had happened.

He finally hung up with a sigh and headed in the direction of his bedroom, when Hank approached him to inform him that Jubilee was beginning to stir. Now that she was stable and no longer unconscious, Hank decided to give her a sedative both to help with the pain and to insure that she was well rested before giving her any bad news which was inevitable once she finally woke. Charles agreed with Hank, despite being opposed in general to medicating anyone without their knowledge or permission.

~O~0~O~

Kelly's death was announced on the news the next morning, the reporters informing the world that it was an apparent suicide. This news which only a few days ago would have caused confusion and interruption of the Xavier's staff was today barely noticed as they concerned themselves with internal problems.

Normally the death of the man who seemed to want to single-highhandedly destroy everything Charles had built and was trying to build would have been important to them, if for no other reason than to have them question what would happen next. That day however, they were far more concerned with how Jubilee was doing and the funerals of the other six people left on their fence.

As it was, the only one of them that heard the news that morning was Bobby who still hadn't been to bed, worried as he was about Emma. He listened for a minuted before they switched the footage to inform the world what had occurred at Xavier's the day before. He had a shakey video of Logan gently removing Jubilee from the fence then a few frames later the others. Bobby decided to inform the professor as best he could. He waited for the Professor to return to his office not wanting to add to anyone's stress at the moment.

Logan had woken before dawn with only an hour or two of sleep, and mapped out the graves in the west garden. He made a few phone calls to some friends and had six caskets delivered, and three trusted men arrived to help him dig the graves. Meanwhile, Charles arrived in the medlab to break the news to the remaining patient.

Jubilee slowly woke as they began digging the second grave and realized immediately where she was. She tried to sit up, only to feel a sharp pain run through her body from her wrist to her chest. She groaned loudly and collapsed back onto the bed as Charles moved closer. "Don't try to move, you have been gravely injured and can not afford to have to have te stitches replaced."

"W-what happened?" Jubilee said in a weak voice. "The last thing I remember I had just unlocked my car and was about to head home..."

"You were kidnapped, and brought here. Where they decided to make an example of you by pinning you to the fence." Jean said as she came in, Charles frowned having already plotted out a far gentler speech.

"I have to get to a phone! I gotta tell Angelo I'm alright. He's probably worried sick. " Jubilee said as she tried once more to sit up. "Did any of you think to inform him I was here? Wait do you know how to get a hold of him?"

Charles looked at the young woman before him with deep sorrow. The worst part of this for him was he doubted this would be the last time he had to have this conversation with one of his teachers, students, or friends. "I'm afraid Jubilee that you were not alone in your kidnapping."

"Wait, so Angelo's here? SO where is he?"

"There were seven people taken altogether that we know of. Yes, I'm afraid to say that Angelo was among those taken. I'm so sorry Jubilee, you are the only survivor. " Jubilee stared at the Professor in disbelief before turning to Jean who confirmed anything she may have asked by Jean's tears. Jubilee then broke down in tears herself as it sank in that Angelo was truly gone.


	30. Chapter 30

_What is to Come_

 _Chapter_ _Thirty_

 _Rogue and Remy tried to postpone their wedding in light of what had happened to Jubilee and the others, but Jubilee and Charles insisted they carry on with their plans. Both the injured girl and the Professor argued that they mustn't allow them to win by putting their lives on hold any further. This was done partly due to everyone being well aware that the couple had already delayed marriage until after Kurt's own wedding and partly due to an overall fear that if they waited to long the wedding would become illegal as Kurt's had._

 _Kurt arrived, thanks to Ororo, early the morning of the wedding. He,however, arrived alone. Amanda stayed with his family while he was gone as both feared allowing her to return to the country since their marriage technically made her a criminal under the new laws. Kurt was as well, which is why though Rogue loved her brother she was not happy to see him._

 _Before their rather loud argument could deteriorate further, Magneto arrived with Wanda, John, Tabby, Lance, and Fred. It was enough to distract Rogue (and everyone else) since Magneto rarely left Genosha and in fact had not been inside the United States since he had taken the people to the island. He simply stated that he would not send his daughter without him so soon after what had happened._

 _Everyone eventually settled down, and Wanda (who agreed to be one of Rogue's bridesmaids) led the bride back upstairs. Meanwhile, the rest of their guests arrived and Remy stood chatting with John and Piotr catching each other up on the last few months._

 _Jubilee was not stable enough to attend the wedding, so Hank stayed in the lab with her, Bobby promising to bring them both something from the reception. Bobby himself didnt really feel up to attending the wedding but he had become very good friends with them both and didn't want to hurt their feelings by disappearing. Had he bothered to ask either of them they would have told him that he didn't have to attend, they were both surprised that he did with everything that was happening in his personal life, though Charles would have insisted he come if for no other reason than to get him away from his computer for a few hours._

 _Ever since Emma left Bobby spent every moment not dedicated to teaching in researching this 'Club' she had joined, and to him it looked bad, very bad, he wanted to go rescue her but the Professor insisted that she wanted to go so they would not interfere, that it was truly what was best. He still felt the Professor was keeping something from him, but also felt it would be rude to demand answers, so instead he continued to dig._

 _For today though he told himself to set it all aside for a couple of hours for the sake of his friends, who had been through far to much and deserved to be happy. Bobby forced a smile and seated himself near the front as he waited for the bride to come down the aisle. Up front stood Remy, with John and Piotr, his oldest friends, and Scott as his best man, along with the preacher who had originally agreed to marry Kurt and Amanda. Kitty and Wanda were her bridesmaids, Jean her Maid of Honor. Kitty and Jean had entrusted their infants to care of Ororo for the afternoon, though they were both nervous at the idea._

 _Rogue had offered to make Nate ring bearer and Meredith flower girl (honorary) so that they could be with their parents, or to find someone else to be part of the wedding party; however all four parents assured her that everything would be fine and they trusted Ororo to mind the babies. Charles was sitting next to Ororo, in case the infants decided the ceremony was to long, he would help her keep them calm. Both babies were currently sleeping however so there was no need for anyone to worry._

 _The music started as Kitty came down the aisle, followed by Wanda, then Jean before finally Rogue appeared, with Logan by her side. He had been honored and a bit flustered when she'd asked him to give her away, but had agreed without second thoughts. He loved Rogue as much as if she were his own child, and he saw for himself how happy she was with Remy, and how happy Remy was with her._

 _Remy had actually been afraid that given their history, and more recently his involvement with Sinister and then their kidnapping, Logan would object to walking her down the aisle, or her marrying him at all. He was surprised when Logan agreed willingly, though was also not surprised by Logan's 'if you hurt her' threat. He knew Piotr had heard similar when Piotr and Kitty were engaged._

 _The ceremony was uneventful, and the reception took place inside the ballroom. It was tastefully decorated with silver and gold balloons,streams, and had candles on the lace draped tables. Everyone enjoyed the festivities, even Bobby before he excused himself to officially take food to the medlab and unofficially finally get a break from the jovial mood._

 _Bobby entered the lab with a plate for Jubilee, and one for himself, as he informed Hank that he decided to relieve the doctor so that Hank could enjoy part of the reception. Jubilee was currently stable, so Hank thanked him and left. He wanted to congratulate the newlyweds and he also assumed (correctly) that Bobby wanted to visit with his old friend without the doctor hovering._

 _Jubilee sat up painfully as Bobby slid the tray over to her bed. She was covered in bandages, and bruises were visible on her face and neck. "I haven't had the chance to ask with everything. How are you doing,really?" she said after thanking him._

 _"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" Bobby responded as he picked at his chicken._

 _"We all know how I'm doing." Jubilee waved off. " Half my bones are broken or bruised, I have healing wounds all over, and the man I love with all my heart was buried yesterday, along side five people I never met, who all died just for being born different. I'm doing horribly and barely holding it together, just like this morning when Ms. Monroe asked me, just like last night when Rogue asked me, just like I will be next time someone else asks me. There's nothing we can do about me, so how are you doing?"_

 _"... I know the Professor says Emma left on her own and it's what she wanted, but I just can't believe it. " Bobby said. " I know no one else will see it, but the way she was talking the night before she left, it's like someone forced her to go. I can't let it go Jubes."_

 _"There, doesn't it feel better to say it out loud?" Jubilee said, already starting to sound tired again. " Now that oyu know why you don't believe it, what are you going to do about it?"_

 _"I don't know yet." Bobby said. "Rogue and Remy's wedding went well. No one interfered, no one attacked us, no one suddenly became violently ill. I'm kind of scared that something bad will happen as well as it all went."_

 _"No you just sound paranoid. Sure bad stuff happens to us, but good stuff happens too, all the time."_

 _" How can you say that after everything you've been through the last few days and mean it?"_

 _"Because if I don't I'll go crazy, and my sanity's all I have left." Jubilee said as she pushed her plate aside and lowered her bed again. "Now I'm going to try to get some sleep. You can either go rejoin the party or sit here quietly, I don't care which cause the food and my meds are doing the trick and I'm about to pass out."_

 _Bobby nodded and let his friend drift off to sleep. He had no intention of leaving her just yet. Not only did he not really feel up to the party upstairs, he had promised Hank he would watch over her. Bobby finished his own meal in silence before he pulled out his phone and continued his research while he awaited Hank's return._

 _Upstairs, the reception was winding down already. The couple had decided for several reasons, primarily fear of Sinister, to avoid going on a honeymoon, however they had moved their things into a new suite this morning that would be their home from now on. Their new room was in between the Summers' and the Rasputins'. It was part of the expanded wing Charles had built while the Morlocks were staying with them, and had been completed shortly after Nathan and Meredith were born four months ago._

 _The other two couples had recently retired to their rooms to settle their children in for a nap, as the party began to break up. Rogue and Remy however preferred to visit with their guests who they rarely saw. John and Remy were off to the side, talking, and Rogue was near by with Wanda and Kurt catching up with them._

 _Magneto pulled Charles aside now that the wedding and reception were over to talk about what had been happening lately. He once more also offered a place to any of the X-men who desired to return to Genosha. It was an open ended offer. Charles agreed once more to pass on the message to his students._

 _~O~0~O~_

 _Sinister was livid. His men had for the most part made themselves scarce when he came into the lab. He had been tracking Stryker since seeing the news of what had happened on Xavier's lawn, intent of punishing the man for what had happened._

 _One of his men, Prism, had made the mistake of questioning how it had been different than what Sinister had wanted to have done to the Morlocks. This both served to remind Sinister of his men's failure (which his teammates would not be thanking him for) and his own death, which did nothing to soothe Sinister's rage._

 _Sinister was not one to take any form of failure lightly, and the loss of the Morlocks was a failure on the part of his team. They had all already been punished severely for it once. Victor had not checked in yet either, a fact that combined with his temper over the events previously mentioned had Sinister on a very short fuse._

 _The team knew this, which is why no one wanted to go and report to him their latest findings on the Bayville situation. Eventually Blockbuster drew the short straw-literally- and approached the lab. He skirted past the shattered remains of his former teammate and cleared his throat to announce his presence to Sinister who was busy staring into a microscope. "Sir?" He said after getting no response._

 _"State your findings and clean that up. It will contaminate my work." Sinister said without looking up._

 _"Sir, Vertigo and Malice just checked in, the men behind the Bayville attack are dead."_

 _"Good, I expect a full report upon their return."_

 _"That's the thing sir. The men were dead when they arrived, they'd been slaughtered." Blockbuster said, rushing on quickly. "At first they thought perhaps Wolverine had gotten to them, but upon closer examination it appears Sabretooth was involved."_

 _"Did they locate Sabretooth?"_

 _"No sir, he's gone to ground." Blockbuster said, cringing. "It appears he slipped his collar sir and is acting alone."_

 _"Nonsense. I've had control of Sabretooth for two decades. If he acted independently, he did so based on prior instructions. I sent a team to kill them, he simply arrived first."_

 _"Sir, Malice said that she saw him interact with Wolverine, and they seemed to be discussing events in a amiable manner, further he is traveling with the woman he was hired to kill. Plus he's had to have had openings to gain access to the subject you sent him after by now, but she is still free."_

 _Sinister's eyes glowed at the suggestion, and Blockbuster slowly backed out of the room. It was well known among Sinister's men that he was not above punishing them simply for being the one to bring him bad news and this was very bad news. Sabretooth had been one of his key pawns for over twenty years, for him to regain self awareness could put Sinister's work in jeopardy unlike anything else that had happened aside from Gambit's escape and betrayal._

 _Blockbuster closed the door to the sound of beakers shattering as Sinister threw them in an uncharacteristic display of anger. The sounds of equipment followed him to the end of the hall were his nerve broke and he ran back to the others. "I told him."Blockbuster said as he rushed in the door. "Now I'm going for a drink I'll be back when he calms down."_

 _The other Marauders decided that going out for a drink (or the weekend) sounded like a good plan and all of them had left the building thirty minutes later when a collected and calm Sinister emerged from the lab. Disgusted by this apparent display of cowardice, he decided this situation required additional help, he returned to his office to make the necessary calls._

 _~O~0~O~_

 _Following Remy and Rogue's eventual departure to their new room, Magento decided this would be a good time to one again extend the offer of sanctuary. Most of the mansion's residents were still downstairs, so he asked Charles if he could speak to them all. Charles was reluctant but agreed it was their choice, so he called a meeting._

 _A few minutes later everyone aside from Kitty, Jean, Scott, Rogue, Remy, and Jubilee entered the room. Piotr agreed to let Kitty know what ws going on, the other two couples had already guessed at the reason for the meeting and had already made up their minds, and Jubilee was to ill to attend._

 _When everyone had settled into their seat in the meeting room, Magneto began. " As most, if not all of you are aware, I and my family has created a sanctuary state in Genosha for all of our kind and their loved ones, human or mutant. I would now like to formally invite any of you who wish to join us to return with us to Genosha tonight. This invitation is open ended however, therefore please do not take this as a 'come now or be cast aside' I understand that the choice to leave behind everything you know is not one to be made lightly. I myself have had to do so more than once in my lifetime, as have several of your other teachers. I will be leaving Charles with instructions and directions so that any who wish to join us later can do so. We do have rules and guidelines that everyone is expected to follow in Genosha. Without law there is chaos and chaos breeds fear, fear breeds hate, and hate breeds violence."_

 _Magento handed a thick file to Charles that contained the exact location of Genosha, the list of guideline Magneto had mentioned, and a list of Genoshan laws. "The most important laws are simple, everyone is expected to contribute to the community to the best of their capabilities. No one is allowed to attack anyone based on their genetic status. I am the leader and will not be handing the title over to anyone, other than my son or daughter, when the time comes. There are, of course more rules, but you can feel free to read through them at your leisure either before you come or while you are settling in."_

 _Magneto then stepped out of the room, along with Charles, to allow the mansion's residence time to thin over the offer. Charles watched his long time friend, and sometime enemy carefully. He wanted to believe that Magneto had no ulterior motive, but he couldn't be certain. Magneto seemed to sense that was Charles' concern because with a light chuckle he removed his helmet. "Go ahead Charles, look into my mind, see that I mean you and your children no harm."_

 _Charles was still reluctant but he did a brief search of Magneto's mind, only skimming long enough to be assured that everything Magneto had said was true. They then returned to the room, where he in turn assured his people that Magneto's offer was legitimate and that Genosha was safe, or at least as safe as anywhere was anymore, probably safer than anywhere else. Anywhere but perhaps than mansion. Charles was not yet willing to admit defeat, nor were several of his X-men._

 _He was sad to feel the number of his students (and staff) who were leaning toward going. Some still had questions that Magneto happily answered, but Charles knew he was going to be saying good bye to the majority of the people in this room._

 _For now, Kurt was returning to Germany. Piotr,Kitty, and their daughter were staying at the mansion. Logan and Ororo were staying. Warren and Elizabeth debated it but decided to stay. Bobby refused to go anywhere until he solved the Emma mystery. Remy,Rogue,Jean and Scott decided to stay already. Hank was staying, but only until Jubilee was stable. Laura expressed the desire to stay, as did Jamie. All of the other students and staff decided they were leaving._

 _Charles sighed,disappointed, before he wished them all luck and safe travels and told them they should go pack. He then turned to Logan and Ororo. "I need one of you to fly the Blackbird II to Genosha with Magneto. He can not carry this many people on his own."_

 _"I ain't going anywhere with who knows what waiting in the wings to attack when our guard's down." Logan said, so Ororo agreed to fly the private plane at was large enough for all those that were leaving. Logan wasn't happy with the option but it was better than any that had him leaving the school after everything that had happened._

 _With in an hour the school was like a ghost town. After so many months overflowing with people, the handful that remained were a little disturbed by the relative silence. Though Jamie did jokingly offer to create some dupes to mae everyone feel better. No one agreed to that plan though, not even in jest._


	31. Chapter 31

What is to Come

Chapter Thirty One

After the LeBeau wedding and mass exodus of the mansion, it had become an unofficial way- station for the mutants and their families wanting to escape for Genosha. The X-men who had remained had all moved back into the rooms in the main mansion, and the dormitories and teacher's quarters that had been built became temporary housing for those who arrived awaiting the now bi-weekly trips to the island.

It had been three months, and so far they had smuggled nearly a thousand mutants out through this manner. Xavier was still not happy with this approach, he still felt that hiding and running away were not the answer, but he respected everyone's right to decide for themselves.

Those who had remained with him no longer had classes to teach, however Logan still ran daily Danger Room lessons, with Scott still the leader of the now much smaller team. Jean and Kitty had recently returned to these lessons, both feeling it was important to get back into 'shape' after over a year of being benched.

It wasn't easy for either woman, daily exercise had remained part of their routines but the much harder battle impact was exhausting. Kitty complained to her husband and Rogue both that she had no intention of having a second child in the near future after realizing how hard it was to get back into the rhythm of the danger room. She went on to explain that it was almost like starting her training over, only now she was 20 with a six month old who kept her up instead of 15 with too much energy. Rogue told her that she was making herself out to be much older than she was when she said things like that and to give it a couple of weeks to get back into practice.

Jean didn't complain about the change in routine. Whether this was because she'd been training longer than the other girl and was still used to it or simply more stubborn none of them knew, but she was completely happy to just dive right in. Only Scott seemed to notice that she was tiring out faster than she used to. Their relationship had recovered a great deal in the months before and following Nathan's birth, and they were happy once again but he decided against mentioning it since he still hated to cause a fight that wasn't necessary.

Remy and Rogue were still the mansion newlyweds, and the other couples tended to treat them as such, with comments about how 'cute' they were and other teasing. Rogue took it in stride, often reminding her husband that these were the kids she grew up with and they tended to treat each other like siblings, including teasing each other. Remy wasn't really annoyed by them generally, though on occasion they would bother him with it.

Still he lost no time in pointing out that they were no longer the newest couple the day after Logan and Ororo eloped. No one dared tease Logan so this was shrugged off. Remy didn't stop pointing this out however, until Logan overheard him one day about a week after his elopement and said. "Are you trying to throw me under the bus Gumbo?"

"Non. They ain't dumb enough to tease you Logan, just reminding them that their jokes are no longer valid about me."

"Find another way. Remind them they all used to be scared of you."

"How do you propose I do that?" Remy said, not buying Logan's solution.

Meet me in the Danger Room at three, we'll invite them to watch." Logan said with a sadistic grin. Remy agreed, and the two parted ways.

Of the remaining members of the X-men, their were only two Remy would agree to fight, Logan who healed, and Rogue who could also heal now, thanks to the number of times she'd absorbed Logan over the years. Remy disliked fighting his wife however, so Logan had recently suggested adding Laura to the roster of Remy's sparing partners. Remy had been reluctant at first, but now agreed that the younger girl was a good match. The reason he refused to fight most of them was he was afraid of a slip. He hadn't slipped in months, but it was still a severe fear for him, so he would only agree to fight those he knew could survive if one occurred.

Word spread quickly that the afternoon's session was open to anyone who wanted to watch. Most Danger room battles were open like this, but rarely did Logan and Remy agree to this, mostly because neither of them had to really hold back with the other so their battles tended to get rather frightening for observers. This just served to excite the few visitors and the mansion's remaining residents though, because it would be a change of pace which was uncommon anymore.

By three, everyone in the mansion aside from Logan, Remy, Jean, Nathan, Ororo, and Rogue was awaiting the battle in the observation booth. Scott assured Charles that Jean was on her way, but had to run back upstairs to change Nathan first. Ororo and Rogue were talking to Logan and Remy and would arrive in a moment as well.

Ororo and Rogue walked into the observation room, after reminding their husbands to not traumatize the guests, and Remy and Logan appeared downstairs in the danger room. Everyone waited in anticipation for the fight to start as the two men circled each other.

After a moment,Logan made the first move lunging at Remy. Remy side stepped out of Logan's path and kicked him at the same time, making sure to kick him in the side instead of anywhere he might encounter the skeleton. A lesson he learned their first sparing match: Logan's bones can break yours.

Logan stumbled forward a step thanks to a combination of his own momentum and the force of the kick. He smirked at Remy as he steadied himself and once again circled his opponent, waiting for an opening. Remy, meanwhile, twirled his staff and watched Logan carefully. They had done this many times now, and he knew what Logan was waiting for, just as Logan had learned his moves. If he wanted to win this he had to be unpredictable. He had to do things differently than before. That was part of the reason he liked fighting Logan, it kept him on his toes, and flexing his creativity.

Finally, after a few seconds, Remy feigned left as Logan lunged right anticipating Remy's move . Remy however, was no longer there, instead he had flipped forward into Logan's path and was now behind the shorter man. Remy tapped him with the staff and announced "You're dead. Point."

Logan nodded, and the two rest their stances back to the center of the room. Remy leaned on his staff, wondering briefly what Logan would do next, like himself, Logan was constantly changing his moves in response to his sparing partner. Logan began to circle again, with Remy straightening to do the same when Logan suddenly lunged forward,sheathing his claws at the last moment as he punched Remy in the shoulder. " KO. Point." Logan growled.

Charles, Ororo, and Rogue were relieved that the pair downstairs seemed to listen to their request this time, and were keeping their fight civil, with bloodshed to the tended to escalate however, which is why Charles had insisted they play three points to out, instead of their usual timed battle, thanks to the visitors. Now each man was down by one point, and their wives were concerned it would get worse. They were circling each other again, Remy had his staff out still, and Logan with both sets of claws, was eyeing him menacingly. Remy made the first move this time, throwing a single playing card in Logan's direction. Logan jumped past it and stepped closer to Remy, using the momentum from the blast to dive at the younger man.

Remy sidestepped him again, and moved to kick at the same time. Logan, however, had intentionally shifted slightly, still being kicked but instead of the side as last time, Remy made contact with Logan's hipbone. Remy cursed in both English and French as he tried to shake off what felt like it might be a broken toe as Logan once more lunged, this time hitting Remy's arm. Though, Logan intended to miss (barely) and take a point, Remy shifted slightly to relieve the weight off his foot. Logan's claws entered Remy's bicep as Rogue rolled her eyes, Ororo sighed, and the majority of viewers gasped.

Logan took it in stride as Remy held his arm, and claimed the point. Remy frowned at him, as he felt the now familiar warmth and his arm glowed as the wound healed. He pulled the charge back in as his shirt and boot began to glow as well before returning to the center.

Logan was standing loosely, noting the glow, he assumed Remy was preoccupied. He was shocked therefore when Remy suddenly jumped forward, hitting Logan on the head with his staff and grabbing the back of Logan's shirt. "KO. Point." Remy smirked. "That's for ruining my shirt, I just had it replaced."

Logan rolled his eyes, but returned to the center once more as their wives shook their heads at the display of 'childishness'. They were back to circling each other, this time both wanting to draw this round out. They were even, two to two, whoever claimed the next point would win and the match would be over. Neither man was ready to end the fight yet however. They'd only been fighting so far five minutes.

Logan lunged, Remy dodged. Before Logan had recovered,Remy swung his staff, which Logan blocked. Both men rushed each other at the same time, Logan diving low as Remy flipped over him, to the collective gasps and groans of their audience. Some had expected contact, other were annoyed they were showing off.

Logan growled and slowly approached Remy as Remy readied himself for the next assault... which never occurred. Instead the lights went out and Logan suddenly collapsed mid-stride. This was not a completely unfamiliar sight to Remy at this point, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the interuption as he called out to the others to confirm his suspicions.

He received no response, and rolled his eyes this time as he got to work over riding the door while wondering what set the Phoenix off this time. He went to the observation room first, to make sure everyone in there was alright. Rogue, and the new girl Laura were already beginning to stir which didn't surprise him. Logan should be right behind him as well.

He didn't have to say anything as Rogue opened her eyes. She sighed heavily before standing slowly."Let's go find out what's happened now. Gotta make sure Jean and the baby are okay." Rogue said, to Remy's nod. Laura followed obediently behind, Logan joining them on the elevator.

They reached the second floor in silence, and Rogue started to step out of the elevator but Logan stopped her with a hand gesture. She froze, they all went into battle mood, as Logan growled. Laura was instantly alert as well, and Remy took his cue from the two far more sensitive mutants. "Someone was here." Logan mumbled almost to soft to hear.

Rogue held back, ready to turn on her power if needed, as Remy extract his staff from an inner pocket and extended it. Laura stepped forward to stand beside her 'father'.

Logan led them slowly out of the elevator toward the Summers' room. The door was ajar, and there was a huge mess inside. The crib was in splinters, the bed on it's side, the dresser had been ripped apart, clothing everywhere. Piles of stuffed animals and various trinkets scattered the room, the window shattered.

"They came in through the window." Logan said as he slowly walked around the room, sniffing the air. "The female approached the crib as Jean came in. The male tried to hold Jean off, the fight broke out here."

Logan reached the overturned bed and shattered crib. "The female threw the crib here, as the male knocked Jean the other way with the bed, that's when she went Phoenix on them, in an attempt to stop them."

Logan then walked out of the door with the others trialing behind. They were hopeful that Jean and Nathan were somewhere on the property if she was Phoenix. "She got this far with the baby, then someone else caught up to her...I've smelled this one before..." Logan said as they reached the edge of the woods. He growled again as he searched the area with his senses to ensure he was correct. "Sinister."

Rogue visibly paled and Remy hugged her as she asked ."Where are they now?"

"The scents end here. All of them. It's like they all just disappeared." Logan growled in frustration. It was just like last time, and the time before when he'd tried to track Gambit. This was unacceptable to him. No one could just disappear, it didn't seem possible to him.

Logan paced back and forth for a minute before pointing at the two southerners. "You go inside and stay there. Keep Scott in too, the last thing we need is for them to get more of you. I'm going to go get answers."

"How?" Rogue asked, well aware that it had taken weeks last tie, and even then it wasn't until Sinister let them go.

"I'm going to go have a chat with Victor." Logan said as he walked toward the garage.


	32. Chapter 32

What is to Come

Chapter Thirty Two

Logan went in search of Victor, who would not be hard to find as he and Raven had returned to her house a few weeks ago after the repairs had been finished. He intended to drag Victor back to the mansion if necessary to gain his help in locating Jean and the baby.

Meanwhile, Charles was searching using Cerebro, and Remy was busy convincing Scott not to just storm out in search of his family without help or a starting point. Rogue was left with the task of trying to calm Kitty's fears, while Bobby had been asked to keep the guests calm. Warren and Elizabeth were paroling the grounds in ensure that no one else snuck in while Logan was away.

Ororo was calling anyone near by that may be willing to send help in the search. There weren't a lot of resources left however, with most of the mutant population leaving as they had the last few months, Xavier's was pretty much the only mutant friendly location left with any population to speak of, however she was also attempting to get a hold of her husband's SHIELD contacts for help.

Neither Le Beau was having a very successful time with their assignments, both because they were feeling panicked themselves and because they agreed with the person they were trying to keep calm. It hadn't taken long for Remy to admit that in Scott's place he would want to be out there looking for his family. Not much could hold him back either. This method was working surprisingly better than if he had tried to 'reason' with Scott as he had been instructed.

Rogue too agreed with Kitty, unlike Remy though, her agreeing with Kitty that clearly the mansion was no longer safe was not effective in calming Kitty or keeping her here. In fact Rogue ended up helping Kitty pack Meredith's things while Kitty contacted Wanda to ask for immediate transport for her family. Rogue didn't feel she herself would be any safer on Genosha and felt in fact that moving there would endanger those who would seek to protect her, so after she helped Kitty pack, she went in search of her husband to help him with Scott while Kitty went in search of Piotr to tell him they would be picked up within the hour.

Kitty found Piotr downstairs with Bobby keeping their current list of visitors calm, and she asked if he could come into the kitchen with her. Once they were away from the crowd she explained what was happening. Piotr frowned before insisting. "We can not leave with Jean missing, we must help to find her and the baby."

"Pete, Jean's my friend and you know I love little Nate but Meri is my priority. I'm going to go stay with Wanda where I know MY baby will be safe, you can come with us or stay here, that's up to you, but I'm going." Kitty said calmly.

"You would leave me?" Piotr asked, sounding very hurt.

"Yes, to protect our daughter I would do anything." Kitty said. "Leaving you here isn't the same thing as breaking up with you Pete. I love you, but she needs me to do what's best for her. If you feel it's best to stay here and help, do it, we will be fine until you join us. I promise."

"I am staying here." Piotr said with a heavy heart. He hated the idea of being separated from his family, but was releaved to hear Kitty say that while she was physically leaving him she wasn't leaving him, and had no intention to desolve the marriage. He couldn't go with them though, he felt it was his duty after everything the X-men had done for him to help find Jean and the baby.

The couple talked for a few more minutes, before Kitty handed him their daughter to say his goodbyes while she went to unpack his belongings. Nothing was going to change her mind on this being the best choice for her daughter even if the idea of being so far away from her husband broke her heart. It would be only temporary, and he would join them. Hopefully it would only be a few days, for Jean and Nate's sake as well as her own.

Logan returned to the mansion with Victor and Raven in tow. As it turned out, he hadn't even had to threaten them, as soon as he told them Jean and the baby had been kidnapped, they came with him to help. Victor warned him right away that the information he had was old and possibly no longer valid, but it was a good place to start.

The three of them went immediately to the war room, and were quickly joined by the remaining X-men aside from Charles and Kitty. Victor then typed up a list of the bases he knew, their co-ordinates, and landmarks to help find them. He was as detailed as possible, but again felt the need to warn everyone that his information was nearly a year old, and Sinister may have abandoned some, if not all, these bases when he realized Victor had defected. He also pointed out that he had never known all of the locations, none of Sinister's men had as far as he knew.

The others all assured him they understood, but it was at least a good starting point. Then came the argument of whether Scott would be allowed to join in the search. Remy and Rogue had agreed when Logan insisted as prime targets they would be far safer here, and the rest of the team would be safer not having to worry about them, but Scott refused to be benched when it was his family they were searching for.

While the matter was still being discussed, Magneto arrived along with Pyro and Avalanche, to pick up Kitty and her daughter, along with the rest of the weekly transport. It was still two days before the normal departure but in light of Kitty's call they decided to move up for the week. Pryo, much to his wife's discomfort, and Avalanche would be staying at the mansion to help with the search.

Charles finally emerged to greet Magneto, and inform the group that he could not trace Jean or the baby after they had been taken from the grounds. Though this was upsetting it wasn't unsurprising. This had been the problem they'd encountered the last time Sinister had taken their people.

"He can shield whomever he wishes." Victor said as they discussed this development. " As I told the Professor months ago when I briefed him, Sinister's a telepath anyway, but he also uses similar tech as Mags here to shield his bases."

"...You talked to Chuck about this?" Logan said, looking not at Victor but at Charles who had decided for reasons of his own not to disclose the previous conversation he'd had with Victor regarding Sinister.

"Yup. I told him everything I thought would be relevant to this." Victor said. "Just like I gave you everything you needed to find all the answers to who you are."

Logan nodded and returned to the search grid. His glare at Charles promising the conversation was far from over. Magneto had been invited into the meeting,which he had agreed to before the departure since most of the people leaving needed a few minutes to prepare. He looked over everything they had so far, and after a brief internal debate decided that he would do what he could to help.

"If he is truly using the same technology I used to shield his bases I know how to get around it." Magneto said. "There is a way, one which I of course made a point of never advertising. I trust if I give you this information you will not use it against us on Genosha as the palace is shielded in this manner?"

"Of course Erik." Charles said, as Magneto nodded, and proceeded to take over the computer console that sat in the corner of the war room. He typed for several minutes while everyone waited, but he refused to explain what he was doing. Eventually he stood and told them that they could now see beyond the shield using Cerebro. Charles went to test the upgrade and everyone including Magneto waited for his response.

A few minutes later Charles informed them over the intercom that the test was complete and the shields were now by-passed, as long as it really was the same frequency. Magneto then gathered those that were joining him and left. He decided he needed to make some changes to his own security once he returned home. Though he trusted Charles at his word, if Sinister really was using the same technology then Magneto needed to make some changes to protect his people against Sinister.

Charles remained in Cerebro to continue the search, but the others all departed except for Remy and Rogue. Though Scott had been told to stay by everyone, he had declared he was going no matter what, so eventually Logan had agreed to let him be involved as long as he was on Logan's team and agreed to follow Logan's every order.

~o~0~o~

Emma sat silently in the meeting. She had spent the last few weeks slowly building her way up the ranks until she sat here, just one step away from officially being in the Inner Circle. If she played her cards right, after today's meeting she would be invited into this exclusive group, inside the most exclusive club in the world. There were only ever four members of the Inner Circle, and recently a vacancy had become available.

Emma tuned out most of what the others were saying. She didn't care about their plans of global domination or wealth. Once she passed this test, none of that would affect her. If she failed this test today however, she would be first on their list of people to destroy. She new this because that was why there was a vacancy in the first place. The former member had unintentionally voiced concerns about the latest plan. She had been gone with in twenty four hours despite her assurances that she agreed with their plans. In insisted in fact, that she had no memory of the previous meeting at all, and had fallen asleep in her office missing it altogether.

Unfortunately for her forgiveness and compassion were not among the strong points of her companions, or even among their weak points. They refused to even consider her story. She'd betrayed them by siding against Sebastian, and that was all it took.

Sebastian Shaw had lead the Inner Circle, as far as Emma could gather, for the last ten years. He was even more ruthless than the man before him, or the other three members. He was a cold hard man who cared for no one other than himself and rarely even noticed other people. Emma had caught his attention.

That was how she managed to climb so far up the ranks to this point, making enemies inside the Club along the way. It would all be worth it after this meeting though, provided that the other two members, Donald and Selene agreed to allow her in. As Sebastian was her sponsor the only way that would happen is if she said or reacted to the wrong this. It was all part of the plan, that's why she made sure that Sebastian noticed her in the first place.

As the meeting came to a close, Sebastian stood and pulled Emma to her feet before announcing officially that she would be the new White Queen. She briefly thought of Bobby but pushed the thought deep into her mind before Selene could catch it as Sebastian kissed her. In the end, all of this would be worth it.

~o~O~o~

Kurt had been fearing this for months, he knew they should have moved to Genosha when things had started to get bad here, but he hadn't wanted to leave his family again. They had passed a law that day outlawing his relationship with Amanda. As soon as word had reached them, Kurt had contacted Wanda on Genosha to as for transport. All requests for emergency evacuation went through her these days.

This was how he learned of Jean and the baby's disappearance because Wanda had to explain that they had no way to pic him and his wife up until later that evening. Kurt agreed to lay low and wait for transport. They packed their bags and left to meet at the edge of the village. Kurt made sure to wear his image inducer and Amanda was wearing a shawl over her hair to try to hide as they went into the trees to avoid being spotted.

Even from a distance Kurt knew when they arrived at his house for him and his wife. They could see the pillar of some as their home was destroyed. Kurt was releieved that they had decided it wasn't safe to wait at home. He wasn't sure how long they would be able to hide though, because they could already see the crowd moving in search of him and Amanda. If Someone didn't arrive for them soon, he was going to have to teleport them as far as he could away from his village and then call to change the pic up location.

Kurt was worried about his wife, he was worried about his sister, and he was worried about his family here. His mother and father lived in this village most of their adult lives. He had no idea if they would still be welcome after this, all because of him. He felt guilty, would they be arrested? Would they be ran out of the village? Would their friends and neighbors support them as they always had or would they turn of them like so many had the last few months? Kurt tried in vain to talk his parents into coming with him and his wife, which was part of the reason why they were still here.

As the crowd grew closer and closer Kurt finally decided they didn't have time to wait so he took Amanda's hand and teleported them as far as he could. He caught his breath, looked around, and teleported again, intent on getting as far away as he could before contacting their transport. Nearly an hour later, Kurt finally collapsed onto a bed in the cheap room Amanda had rented for them moments ago when they reached Athens and Kurt announced he could go no further until he had rested.

After Kurt fell asleep Amanda took his phone and called Wanda to let her know where they were. Wanda told her at that point that Magneto had just returned, but like Kurt he needed to rest for a few hours before he could travel again. Amanda had assumed this to be the case and asked if they'd had any leads on Jean and the baby yet. She was disappointed to hear that as far as Wanda knew, they hadn't learned anything yet.

Amanda knew her husband was worried about his sister, she knew that he was considering returning to the mansion once he made sure she was safe on Genosha to help keep his sister safe, but that scared Amanda too, because what just happened, with them having to flee from their home to avoid capture... she wasn't sure that he wouldn't face the same thing there. The laws were similar after all.

~o~O~o~

The teams had left a few hours before, the refugees and Kitty had departed before that. Remy and Rogue were basically alone in the large mansion. Charles was closed up in his office where he would remain until he had rested enough to use Cerebro again to search for the missing mother and child.

Rogue wandered the deserted halls, as she picked up random items occasionally left behind in the haste to depart. Her husband was angry with himself over not being able to help. Her best friend had taken her child and fled in fear. Her brother was gone, missing as far as she was concerned, though hopefully on his way to Genosha. Everything was falling apart. All because of one man.

How, she wondered, could one man destroy everything in her life? How had he managed to acquire so much power to affect so much of the world? What did he have against them that he would torment her people so ? Was he not one of them? Why would he want to turn the world against them? It didn't make sense to her. Worse to her was the missing infant.

What could he possibly want with the baby? Try as she might, she couldn't push her fears aside, because this was the same monster that had kidnapped her before. This was the same monster who ordered the deaths of the Morlocks. This was the same monster who terrified her unshakable husband to the point of hiding. And he had an innocent little baby. No one knew where to find them, because Victor said it himself that the bases he listed were probably long abandoned.

She felt useless, despite agreeing that it would help no one to go along and then get captured again herself. She hated just waiting here and she knew Remy did too. He was downstairs right now watching the security video again to see if there was anything that could have been done differently. She knew that both he and Logan were blaming themselves for this because they were the reason eveyone had been distracted.

Rogue had tried to point out earlier before she'd began cleaning everything up, that had they not had their mock battle, Sinister still would have found a way in and they still would have been taken. This did nothing to help calm her husband's guilt over the situation. He had decided this was his fault and he wasn't letting the thought had gotten into a minor argument over it because she was just as stubborn as he was so she wouldn't back down from her belief that he was being to hard on himself. Now the were both cooling off from their fight awhile avoiding each other as much as they could inside the same building. Both were thinking the same thing, that they wished they'd managed to get a spot on Logan's team as well because then at least they'd be doing something.


	33. Chapter 33

What is to Come

Chapter Thirty Three

Logan tiredly dragged himself through the front door. He, Victor, and Scott had spent the last three weeks searching every known lab. They'd even gone over the labs that Ororo, and Warren's teams had already covered. They'd found no evidence that Jean and the baby had ever been in any of them.

It was half past two in the morning and Logan didn't expect anyone to be up, so as he and Scott arrived in the kitchen, he was surprised to find Remy standing at the stove. Logan had thought the smell of stew had been left over from dinner, not that it was currently cooking.

Remy nodded to the table to indicate they should sit before returning his attention to the large pot he was stirring. "Saw you pull into the garage, guessed you'd be hungry and tired so decided to heat back up some of this."

"Thanks." Scott mumbled as Logan grunted in response. Remy brought over two large bowls a few minutes later, then added a loaf of fresh bread to the center of the table, before bringing over a smaller bowl for himself.

"It's nothing, Rogue made enough to feed an army earlier, and gotta do something to stay awake til the end of my shift." Remy said. "We decided that someone needs to always be monitoring the security room, at least for now. Elizabeth's in there right now, her shift started ten minutes ago."

"Any word?' Logan asked.

"Non." Remy shook his head. "Xavier's looking into some leads, hoping to shake a few more loose, mais so far, nothing. We've got a few guests, only five this week."

"We're still taking people in after what happened? For all we know one of them let him in!" Scott said.

"Charles said none of them had anything to do with it, Scott. We're here, this mansion stays open, to keep helping people escape. That hasn't changed. Now I wouldn't blame you and neither would anyone else if you decide it's no longer the best place for your family when we get them back, they ain't going to stop helping people though." Remy said.

Scott glowered not liking the idea that people were still being let in even after what happened to his wife. He wasn't sure he really bought that Remy or the others were really as okay with it as Remy said though, not if they'd decided they needed to sleep in shifts like this. He wondered briefly how much sleep the LeBeaus lost before the others started returning.

As soon as his bowl was empty Scott left the room without saying another word. Logan stood, but instead of leaving he dropped Scott's bowl in the sink before spooning more stew into his own. Remy watched him silently, as soon as Logan sat again, Remy asked if it was a bad as it seemed. Logan nodded as he chewed of a piece of bread before stating that it was.

They'd searched everywhere any of them could think of and hadn't found anything, the only way it seemed they would find them is if and when Sinister decided to let them go as he had before. This was what Remy had feared Logan would say which is why he avoided asking until Scott was well out of hearing range.

They assured each other that they wouldn't be giving up before placing their own bowls in the sink and Logan left the room. Remy spent a few more minutes cleaning up the kitchen before heading to bed. He said goodnight to Elizabeth on his way upstairs so that she knew the ground floor should be empty and went to his room.

As soon as he laid down, Rogue turned over to face him and said. "They're back?"

"Oui."

"Is it that hopeless?"

"...Oui."

"Maybe...maybe we should set a trap. Maybe if they thought we were alone and vulnerable-"

"No. We already talked about this! I won't go over it again. We are not doing this again. I can't lose you, Anna, and I can't. Just no."

"If it would help."

"It wouldn't help!" Remy said as he sat back up angrily. " Even if you had a tracker on you, either mechanical or psychic he would block it long before you were wherever he's holding people now, and the chances of you ending up where Jean and the baby are is next to none! There's not even a guarantee Jean and the baby are in the same place after this long. I don't want to think about it, I don't want to talk about it. It's not going to happen, because all that it would do is have them searching for three people instead of two. How long do you think it would take them to find them or you if they were searching for three instead of two."

"I can't just sit here doing nothing!"

"Oui you can because that's exactly how you are helping! Do you think it's easy for me to just sit here? Don't you think I want to be out there helping them search? None of this would have ever even happened if I hadn't been foolish enough to agree to his help in the first place!" Remy said now pacing the room and getting louder with every word. "I'm to blame for this! All of it! Had I never come here for help he wouldn't have targeted you, had I just accepted my fate and died instead of agreeing to his terms none of this would have ever happened. I ruined all your lives because I was weak! Weak and Scared and childish and a fool!"

"Are you done? Because that's crap and you know it!" Rogue said also angry. " Jean going Phoenix attracted his attention, not you. You were a side show to the main attraction. He wanted revenge on you but he wanted her for the power inside of her. He wants me for my power. Hell, he even wants you for yours. Nothing you did or didn't do would have changed him coming after us. You know what you did do? You saved the Morlocks. You could have just gone along with the program, but instead you distrusted him enough that you dug around and found out what he was really planning. Then you came and warned us before it could happen. Without you there, they would have all died. If you had decided to just believe what he had to say, they would have all died. Had you never come here, Jean and Scott and I still would have been taken, only without what you had already told us about him how long would we have been there? For all you know we still would be. Stop blaming yourself for things beyond your control . Sure you've made mistakes, we all have. That don't make you guilty of everything."

Remy glared at his wife, knowing that she was right but not wanting to let go of the guilt. He knew there had to have been something he could have done differently to change this. Before he could say anything more however they heard Logan through the door. "I haven't slept in almost a month, stop with the soap opera, get some shut eye and we'll come up with a new plan in the morning. I better not have to come back down here tonight!"

Rogue rolled her eyes, but Logan's speech seemed to have worked because her husband visibly deflated before returning to bed. She waited a moment to let him settle before laying her head on his shoulder. Whatever came tomorrow, she was glad they were together tonight. She couldn't sleep without him beside her anymore, she couldn't remember how she used to manage to sleep alone.

~o~O~o~

Kurt and Amanda had settled into their assigned house just across the park from the Palace, and next door to the Leeches. Everyday Amanda would go next door and babysit Dorian while his mother went to work at the local clinic as a nurse. Kurt worked in the Palace as Pietro's assistant.

Amanda had just returned home after a long day babysitting, with a bag of groceries when Kurt arrived. He looked happier than he had in weeks, so at first she wondered if he'd received news about the missing Summers. She didn't get a chance to ask though before he announced that Wanda had managed to track down his mother and father, and they'd agreed to come to Genosha.

"Oh that's wonderful news!" Amanda said.

"Yes, now if only I could talk my sister into coming here, life would be good. Put those bags away, we're going out tonight to celebrate.

Amanda agreed, and together they put the food away before she went to change and they walked downtown. She didn't ask, but he answered anyway as they walked when he told her that his sister still hadn't learned anything new about Jean and the baby.

After dinner, which they both decided to eat without any further comment of anything upsetting, they walked in the park. The sun was just beginning to set, and the park was nearly deserted this time of night. "It reminds me of the one back in Bayville." Amanda commented. "Remember? Where we used to meet before I moved out of my parents."

"I remember. It does look similar, with the flowers, and the trees, and the jungle gym. " Kurt agreed, then with Amanda laughing behind him, he took a running jump to the top of the monkey bars before agile crossing them doing a handstand.

Eventually it started to get to dark for Amanda to see properly, so they headed back out of the park, hand in hand. They had reached the fountain near the entrance when a large man punched Kurt, knocking him to the ground. "You Basie lovers are as bad as basies! You love em so much why don' you go live with em?" the man said.

Before he could land a second blow, Pietro appeared in a small gust of wind. He grabbed the larger man and had him on the ground kneeling on his back before he knew what had happened. "Sorry-I-took-so-long-not-up-to-full-speed-yet."

The man continued to curse and scream as Kurt stood back up and thanked Pietro. A couple of minutes later, the police arrived to arrest the man officially. After they'd left and Kurt led a shaken Amanda out of the park she finally asked. "How did he know you needed help?"

"The parks, and public building are constantly monitored by security cameras, which you know, we see them everywhere. Well when a crime is committed it sends an announcement to law enforcement, and in the case of physical violence it also sends a message to Pietro. He came as soon as he'd been alerted." Kurt explained as they walked toward their house.

"Are you okay?" Amanda asked after nodding at his explanation.

"I'm fine, are you okay?"

"No, not really." she said as the house came into sight. "I thought things were supposed to be better here. Better not different."

"We're working on it." said Wanda as she came up behind them. Pietro had called her and she'd decided to check on the Wagners. "That kind of behavior is not acceptable on the island. On the rare occasion such things do occur, my brother intervenes as quickly as he can and the person involved is punished. Depending on the indecent they are either arrested or exiled. Dad spent to many years being the one on the other end of the fist to allow it to happen to the people on his island. Any of the people."

"Yeah right, you're dad's been attacking humans for years!"Amanda said, losing control of her temper. "He's always saying how mutants are better and stuff."

"Magneto was a very angry man, he allowed the past to color his view of the world, and cared for nothing but vengeance. He's changed. Almost losing my brother changed him. Getting this island changed him. People like Crystal and you and Mrs. Leech made him realize he was becoming what he hated. Dad's a different person than he was a few years ago. Words aren't going to convince you or anyone else though. Only time and actions can do that. All I ask is you give him, give Genosha, a chance." Wanda said.

Amanda reluctantly agreed. She wasn't sure she believed everything Wanda was saying, but there weren't any options left if she wanted to stay with her husband and out of jail, so she would give the island a fair chance. After all, letting one man change her view of the place wouldn't be fair to anyone either. She should have known, in hind site, that they would occasionally run across this kind of thing. People were people no matter what and some of them were just bullies.

~o~O~o~

Bobby, Rogue, Remy, and Ororo were watching the news networks in hopes of hearing any possible clues as to the location of Jean and the baby. They knew it was a long shot, but they were running out of ideas. Logan had gone back over to Victor's to try to get more ideas off of him. Scott was passing the mansion like a caged tiger. Warren was in the security room and Elizabeth was in bed after finishing her night shift. Lance and John had offered to make lunch, and Charles was in the middle of a long phone call in his office.

Bobby spit water all over the carpet, to Rogue's protest, when he saw on the television Emma standing holding hands with a man on the screen as the reported said. As we reported earlier this afternoon, Sabatian Shaw, seen here with his fiance Emma Frost, has announced his campaign. The office was vacated earlier this year with the unexpected passing of Robert Kelly, leaving an open seat and leading to this special election. Donald Pierce announced his candidacy yesterday."

"Emma's what?!" Bobby said sputtering.

"Oh Bobby, I'm so sor-" Rogue started.

" There must be some mistake or explanation." Bobby said as he waved off Rogue's concern. "Emma wouldn't just jump into a new relationship like this. We aren't even broken up."

"Apparently you are?" Remy said as they showed Shaw kiss Emma on the cheek before they both waved to the crowd once more. Bobby shook his head in denial. The expressions on the others' faces was to much for him and he stood to storm out of the room, when the intercom announced a meeting.

They all made their way to the war room, where Xavier was already waiting. After everyone had arrived, minus Logan, Charles said. "We've received a tip a few minutes ago from a reliable source. If everything is as it seems, we should be able to get Jean and Nathan back by this evening. Logan will be briefed on the plane, Xmen, move out."

Remy and Rogue joined the others as they headed down toward the hanger, only to be stopped by Charles, who reminded them that they had been benched for the duration. Neither were happy with this, even when he added that someone had to stay here to watch over their current guests and monitor the security systems.

Logan arrived as the plane was starting. He noticed the angry expressions on the LeBeaus faces, as well as the anxious atmosphere and assumed correctly that they finally had a lead. He rushed to the hanger, and was briefed as they took off. Remy watching from the door before heading back to the security room.

Rogue was already there watching the monitors while mumbling to herself that she was capable of helping. Remy sat down beside her, and she turned to him after a couple of minutes. "If anything happens to Jean and Nathan that could have been prevented by us being there, I will never forgive them."

"Nothing is going to happen. At least nothing we could have stopped, Rogue."

"Really? What if they get there and Jean goes Phoenix again? You know the safest way to stop her is to have me knock her out."

"I don't think that's a good idea in the middle of a battle anyway. What if in turn you went Phoenix?" Remy said trying to reason with her. In truth he was angry about being benched as well.

Rogue sighed but said nothing else. They lapsed into a tense silence as they waited to hear from the others. Waiting wasn't easy, and they both felt helpless being left behind. Though they understood that the reasoning hadn't changed , they felt having a lead should mean all hands on deck so to speak.

After awhile, Rogue left to go prep the medlab in case they needed it, then prepare dinner. Remy sighed as he continued to watch the monitors. The handful of 'guests' they currently were housing were watching a movie in the rec room. They knew something was happening but they weren't evolved.. No one had given them any details, nor had they asked for any. They just assumed it was a private matter and left it at that.

Rogue brought him a plate of meatloaf and roasted potatoes awhile later, then sat with him again. The waiting was the worst part of being left behind. It had been two hours, and they had no idea how much longer it would take. They finished eating and Rogue started to take his plate back. Remy insisted on taking hers instead and handling the clean up since she'd done the cooking.

Shortly after he left the room, the light blinked indicating the plane was preparing to land. She called for him before they both rushed back to the hanger, anxious to see how things had gone. When the doors opened, Ororo walked down the ramp first, followed by John, Lance, Charles, Logan, Bobby, Elizabeth, Warren, and then finally Scott carrying a blanket wrapped baby.

Rogue looked to Logan who shook his head. She turned to Remy and buried her face in his shoulder as he hugged her to him. The baby began to stir as Scott slowly walked from the room, saying nothing to anyone and not looking as if he even really knew where he was.

Rogue feared the worst, and so did Remy until the room cleared of everyone but Logan. He placed a comforting hand on Rogue's shoulder before he said. "She's still alive Darlin' or at least she was when they left the lab with her. When we got there it was deserted except for Nathan and a couple of guards. She's been moved, but she was there a couple of hours ago."

Rogue nodded, the followed Remy out of the room. At least she was alive, but how would they find her? It had taken a tip to find the baby, and clearly Sinister had still been a step ahead of them. Rogue couldn't help but feel that the only reason they'd found Nathan was because Sinister had wanted them to find him.


	34. Chapter 34

What is to Come

Chapter Thirty Four

Scott gently laid his son in his crib after the baby finally drifted off to sleep. He'd refused to leave the child's side since they had returned from the mission that had rescued the boy. Others had offered to watch the baby for him so that he could have time in the danger room, or attend meetings, but he'd refused. The only exception was that he would allow Rogue or Ororo to watch the baby while he used the restroom. Occasionally, he'd allowed Rogue, with Logan there as well to watch Nathan while he took a shower. He spent the entire time terrified someone would come in and snatch the baby while he was gone.

He knew that some of the others thought he was being ridicules, but he had lost his son once and had no intention of losing him again. Rogue, Ororo, Logan, and Remy all seemed to agree with him, which is why he trusted them with the child for short periods. Charles assured Scott himself, as well as some of the others, that it had only been a few weeks and that in time Scott would relax. Scott didn't agree with him but he didn't argue either.

After the baby stirred around slightly, before settling back to sleep, Scott crossed the room and sat at his desk to use the laptop. He had not given up on finding his wife. Every spare moment that he wasn't holding his son, he was searching the internet for clues where she may be now. He swore he wouldn't relax until she was home safe.

Meanwhile, in a different part of the mansion Bobby watched the news. He had taken to obsessively watching, in hopes of seeing a glimpse of Emma. She appeared, often in the background, whenever Shaw spoke which was often. Bobby still didn't understand how this happened. She'd seemed happy with him, and then she just left. He heard nothing for months, only for her to reappear as the fiancee of another man.

Bobby had wondered if there was more to it than appeared, but when he brought the idea up to Charles, he was rebuffed. Scott had no interest in Bobby's personal issues, Remy and Rogue were sympathetic but had no answers. Piotr was just as upset at being separated from Kitty, and was close to just heading to Genosha, the baby was safe after all, and he missed his own daughter. Warren and Elizabeth both told him that he should let it go as Charles had. The idea of talking to Logan about it disturbed Bobby to much to actually consider it. Ororo, like the LeBeaus seemed sympathetic but had no answers.

In other words, Bobby had no one really to talk to about the situation. So he brooded, and hoped that someday he would receive the answers he was after. Which is really what he was currently doing, in the middle of the night watching the news instead of sleeping. Aside from Scott upstairs, and Piotr in the control room no one else was still up. Bobby was slightly surprised when Piotr walked up behind him, after all it was unusual for whomever was on guard duty to leave the control room until their shift ended.

"I know you are busy." Piotr began as Bobby jumped. "However, I must remain at the monitors and a van is seeking access. Evan and Jade are in the front, so it is likely that we should want them here, yes?"

"Yes, but we should make sure they aren't here as a trap, I'll go let them in." Bobby finished, understanding why Piotr had disturbed him.

Piotr returned to the control room, as Bobby grabbed a lantern and made his way down to the gate. The last few weeks there were less protesters than there had been when Creed was in charge, but they were still there. No one opened the gate without someone standing on the other side to make sure none slipped in.

As soon as Bobby was standing next to the post, the gate slid slowly open. The officer assigned to the gate for the evening held the protesters back as Bobby waved the van inside. As soon as the van cleared, the gate closed and Bobby stepped up to the driver's side window.

" Hello,Jade, Spyke." Bobby said as he looked in the window. "Everything OK?"

"No it isn't. Our station was compromised an hour ago." Evan/Spyke said. "Some protesters managed to get past security and caught the house on fire. We all got out, but have no where to go. We need a place to stay until the next pick up."

"How many?" Bobby asked, saddened to hear about the attack. That left them down to one location to safely house mutants seeking refuge in Genosha.

"Ten. Luckily, it was a slow week. Eight mutants, two human parents." Spyke said. "Also, Jade needs to see the doctor, we think she may be having contractions."

"...We no longer have a doctor on staff, Hank left a few weeks ago, but Ororo is a midwife, or used to be."

"That will work."

Bobby then looked in the back, as Spyke expected, and found exactly as Spyke had described, so he nodded and they drove up to the mansion. Charles had been alerted, and met them at the front door. Bobby joined them as the van emptied, and Charles asked him to show them to the guest rooms.

After Scott's return and rescue of Nathan, it was decided for his peace of mind that guests would once again be housed in the dorms. They shared meals with the main house, but the only people allowed in after curfew were the X-men, and Jamie. To avoid any issues, a kitchen was installed in the dorms, for any late night food needs, and the dorm also had a rec room that mirrored the main house.

There was a brief discussion with Spkye, Logan, and Xavier over whether Spyke would be staying in the main house or with his charges in the dorms. Xavier offered him and Jade his old room, as a former X-man he saw no issue arising out of this. Spyke however, refused due to both consideration of Scott and a sense of obligation to stay with the people he had brought here.

Logan approved of Spyke's reasoning and said as much to Xavier, pointing out that 'the boy' was acting like a 'real leader'. Xavier agreed, a little reluctantly, and Logan led them to the dorms. Ororo was notified of their arrival and would be joining them shortly, so she could check on the baby. If necessary, they would move her to the med-lab in the main house. Spyke agreed.

Scott heard the arrival, and watched from his window for awhile, before finally going to bed after the front yard had cleared of guests. He double checked his door to assure himself it was locked, and laid down. The soft sound of his son's breathing was soothing. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, however.

There were strangers on the grounds. These ones were brought by Spyke,which he tried to tell himself. They weren't likely to try to cause any harm to his son, or anyone else, yet with their arrival came the fear. Scott couldn't bring himself to relax.

He missed his wife dearly, and he wasn't ready to give up on her, but he wondered if the mansion was the safest place for his son. On one hand, this was where the boy had disappeared from to begin with, on the other hand, was anywhere really going to be safer? Magneto had offered to allow Scott and his family to stay in the royal palace in Genosha. Scott was sorely tempted to agree, but Magneto was not someone he really trusted. He trusted Charles, but the mansion didn't feel safe to him anymore. He thought about just taking the baby and moving home to Alaska.

It had been many years since he had been there, not since his parents died. If he went there, would anyone think to look? Sinister seemed to know more about anything than he should, and if he send someone after the baby up there,Scott would have no one to help him defend the child.

There was also the issue he had failed to mention to anyone searching, and he refused to think about most of the time, accept for times like these when he was debating what to do. When Jean was taken, she was pregnant. She had just told him that morning, and was planning on confirming it with the lab before announcing it to anyone else.

Scott had no idea if she still was, after their last encounter with Sinister he had his doubts. But if she was, he had a second child out there to worry about. If they didn't find Jean soon, he would anyway. He had wondered more than once if he should say anything to the others. He hesitated for a couple of reasons. First, Remy and Logan already were driving themselves mad with guilt. Secondly, he wasn't sure there would ever be a child. Finally, if he said it out loud, then it would be real to him, and he wasn't sure if he could bear it.

Despite their best efforts, they were no closer to finding his wife, as far as he could see. It was better not to dwell then on what he couldn't have. His son needed to be his focus. He firmly believed that Jean was still out there somewhere; that he would have felt it if she was gone,but he doubted himself at times like this when it was very late and very quiet.

~0~O~0~

Remy woke to the alarm on his phone. He groaned, remembering it was his turn on watch. It wasn't that he felt the watch was unneeded. In fact, he'd been among those who pushed for it. It wasn't that he didn't feel it was his duty to be part of it. It was that it was five in the morning, and he hadn't fallen asleep until three because he was worried about the new arrivals and, well, watch was boring. It was important, but boring.

He worried with the combination of lack of sleep and boredom he would fall asleep on duty, which would be bad. Remy sighed and rolled over to look at his wife. He considered waking her to see if she would come down with him. Sometimes they did that, Rogue's insomnia was nearly as bad as his. She was actually sleeping peacefully though, and he hated to disturb her.

Remy decided to just let her sleep, and bring a book with him to keep him awake. He climbed reluctantly from bed and set about gathering his clothes quietly. He had just pulled on his sweatpants when Rogue bolted from their bed and rushed to the bathroom. He was behind her in an instant, holding her hair and rubbing her back.

"Are you okay,cher?" He asked worriedly. His wife didn't get sick often, but on the rare occasion that she did, she usually got very sick.

She nodded wordlessly, before weakly heading back to bed, her usual pale complexion almost translucently white in the early morning light. He tucked her back under the covers, before offering to ask Logan to trade. She shook her head, and assured him that she would be fine.

Remy went downstairs, but he was still concerned. Warren looked up tiredly as he waled into the room. " You're late."

"Rogue's sick." Remy replied.

"Rogue? She never gets sick." Warren said.

"Well, almost never."

"What's wrong with her?" Warren said as they traded places.

"She was throwing up."

"Oh." Warren said. Remy stared at him for a moment, recognizing the tone, having used it himself on others.

"She's not pregnant Warren, she sick" Remy said with a sigh.

Remy shrugged as Warren left. He looked at each other the monitors, before pulling out his book. It was going to be a long morning. Logan came by about an hour later. Remy informed him, as he had Warren that Rogue was sick. Logan however, just nodded,before saying. "I know. I heard her. How are things in here? Everything quiet?"

"Yes, not so much as a squirrel on the sensors." Remy said, before returning to his book.

"Ororo will be down to take over in an hour, I talked to her about trading you for kitchen duty. Rogue sounds miserable, you should go take care of her. Just try not to catch her bug."

"I won't. Even if I do, you know I'd be over it in a couple hours."

Logan snorted. "Yeah. Hours."

"Not everyone can get over things as fast as they catch them mon ami. Some of us still suffer a little."

"It's probably a twenty four hour thing, but if she still sick tomorrow, we'll have to consider taking her downstairs to find out if she's okay."

Ororo arrived as planned, and Remy went upstairs to check on his wife. She had the drapes drawn, so the room was pitch black. Luckily Remy had the room memorized. He approached the bed and whispered her name to see if she was awake. She groaned slightly, which he took to mean she was sleeping. He kicked off his shoes and laid beside her, before pulling out his tablet, and playing a game quietly.

After awhile, she groaned a second time and rolled over to face him. He asked her if she was alight, and she shook her head. "My head hurts, my stomach's turning, and I'm freezing."

"Awe." Remy said as he leaned over and kissed her forehead. She was burning up with fever. He was concerned especially when her reaction to him jostling the bed was to run once again for the bathroom.

Remy went down to the kitchen to get her some juice and crackers. Scott was there with the baby, feeding him oatmeal. Warren was sitting on the other end of the table reading the news, and Elizabeth was a the stove making eggs.

Warren asked if Rogue was feeling any better, and Remy shook his head. Elizabeth and Scott both asked what was wrong. Remy told them she had the flu, and headed back upstairs. Scott hoped the baby didn't catch it, and Elizabeth hoped no one else did either.

~0~O~0~

By the following morning Rogue wasn't the only sick person in the house. Everyone aside from Logan and Remy were down with the flu. Both of them had caught it as well, and had recovered quickly. Rogue was still sick too. Spyke tried to keep his group separate in hopes of avoiding the illness, but most of them were sick by that afternoon. Worse, in his opinion, was that his wife's contractions were still strong. He hoped, in light of the number of people around them that were sick, that the baby waited for awhile longer to arrive.

Meanwhile, with only the two of them, they reluctantly went back to the previous alert system and were not currently watching the monitors constantly. Both were far to busy taking care of everyone to keep a constant watch. Both feared the risks involved in it, but saw no choice.

Logan offered to heal Rogue, when she wasn't any better by dinner that night. He offered for two reasons. One he hated seeing her sick, and two they were outnumbered on sick people and could really use help. She refused at first, since gaining control, she was even more reluctant (if possible) than she was before to absorb people. After a few hours of suffering, and the stressed and overwhelmed expression on her husband's face, as well as her own suffering, she finally agreed.

With Rogue recovered, she then took over care of the others so that Remy and Logan could have a break. They, in turn, decided that a break meant going to the security room and watching the missed footage. Remy fell asleep in his chair, but Logan watched intently. He was concerned about security breaches that had gone uncovered.

Eventually he was about to admit defeats, and assume the last few months made him paranoid, when he saw something disturbing. At four thirty six that morning, in the brief time Remy had taken a nap and Logan had run to the store for emergency supplies of soup and soda, a clocked figure had entered the grounds.

The person, Logan couldn't identify them thanks to the clock, calmly walked up the driveway, and entered the mansion. Whoever it was knew the security codes, as he watched them type it into the control panel. Then they calmly walked down the halls as if they'd done it a hundred times before, and entered the Professor's office.

Unfortunately, the Professor's office was the only downstairs room that didn't have any cameras inside. Logan had no idea, therefore, if this person had done anything he needed to worry about. Charles had files on everyone who had ever lived at the mansion in that room.

He also had no idea if the Professor had been present for this meeting, or if he had been aware of someone's presence. Charles, like everyone else, was down with the flu. His private rooms were connected to his office, so it was possible he had been there, but as sick as he was it was also possible he had been completely unaware.

Logan decided the best way to handle this was to go over the pat footage and see it this person had managed to get in before. He also decided to retrace Rogue's movements the day before she had gotten sick, to decide if someone may have intentionally made her sick to gain access to the mansion.

Logan quickly looked at the monitor that sat off to the side, the one pointing directly at Nathan's crib. Scott's room was the only bedroom with a camera. Nathan appeared to be sleeping, no ill intent was evident, at least not toward the baby. Scott was down with the flue himself, as was Nate. Whoever it was, at least they didn't seem to have any interest in the baby... for now.


	35. Chapter 35

What is to Come

Chapter Thirty Five

Logan showed the footage to Charles, who seemed concerned but not nearly as much as Logan would have liked. He assured Logan that he was certain whoever it was meant no ill intent, after all they had been inside the grounds for some time and had done nothing as far as they could tell. Logan felt this made it worse. They had no idea what this person wanted, which made them dangerous. He still found no trace of who it may have been when he looked along the path they waled, which bothered him even more.

There was only one person he new of that he couldn't smell, and Mystique had an alibi he actually believed. She and Victor were at the store at the time of the video, along with Logan himself. As he was their alibi he felt it was alright to assume it wasn't her for now, but then who could it be?

Logan agreed that telling the others about this was a bad idea, at least at the moment so aside from telling Remy and Rogue to be extra careful while on watch he said nothing. The couple assumed it was because so many were still sick and agreed. Not warning the others however, didn't sit well with Logan. Though he went to his room, and even laid down, he was unable to sleep. He spent the rest of the night listening for trouble.

Within a few days, the occupants of the mansion were on the mend. Jade's baby had not yet arrived, and they were awaiting transport to Genosha. Logan still hadn't said anything about the late night visitor, but when Ororo had worried that sending Jade before the baby's arrival would cause the child to come, Logan sided with Spyke and Jade. He told his wife that the baby was arriving one way or another, and it wasn't early, so it shouldn't matter.

The truth was he wanted as few innocent people in the mansion as possible until he knew it was safe. After the others had left, he spent the rest of the day upgrading security once again. He tried to trace which security code the stranger had used to by-pass the system because after watching for the third time he realized that they had to have typed in someone's code to get past the barriers.

Unfortunately, the code punch records for the last week appeared to have failed to file. This added to his frustration, as he assumed that whoever the person was, they had somehow cause this malfunction. When he realized this, he decided he needed help upgrading the computer as well. Normally he would have asked Kitty for help with this, but she was still in Genosha, now joined by her husband, so she was unlikely to return anytime soon. Logan went through his short list of occupants still in the house, before settling on Remy.

Remy helped him with the upgrade, assuring Logan that no one should be able to access the programming afterward, except for himself and Logan. Logan was satisfied that this was the best they could do and thanked Remy, still avoiding the reasons behind the upgrade. Remy decided not to push for answers. If he really wanted to know, he was sure he could figure it out from the computer files.

Wanda called them later that evening to inform Ororo that Spyke and Jade's son had been born. The baby arrived about three hours after his parents arrived on the island. He had his mother were both doing well. Ororo thanked her. But was still slightly irritated at Logan for siding against her. They both let the matter drop however, when Logan refused to apologize even when a thunderstorm threatened outside.

~o~0~o~

Scott received the email that evening. Normally an email from an unknown sender would have caused him to throw it away without opening it, however, it was labeled "Jean" so he ignored his usual habits to open the blank letter, and watch the video attached.

It showed a very shaky image of Jean on an operating table. Whoever had filmed the footage appeared to have been hiding the camera, because there was some form of cloth around the edges of the video screen. Scott watched as Sinister appeared in front of the camera with a syringe of of something that looked similar to mud. Scott held his breath as the fluid was injected into his wife's stomach. Though there was no sound he could see his wife's scream. She arched away from the table that she was tied to and then began to shake. After a moment the shaking had stopped and Jean was still. Scott assumed she passed out, as Sinister turned and spoke to someone off screen.

Sinister then led the person hiding the camera out of the room and down an odd hallway. Judging by the state of the art facilities in the lab, the hallway seemed out of place. It appeared to be an ordinary, if extravagant, home. Scott watched as they entered a Parlor, and Sinister sat across from the camera while speaking to the person out of view. The video cut off shortly after this, and a message typed onto the screen. "She needs your help, they will move her soon and I am not certain I will be able to locate her again. Best of Luck."

Scott stared shocked at the screen for almost five minutes before standing up. He grabbed a sleeping Nathan from his crib and ran down the hallway in search of Logan and Remy who he knew were still awake. With in a few minutes everyone was gathered in the War room while Scott reopened the email so everyone could watch. They all tared in horror at the screen, before Scott froze the video when the words appeared.

"It would have been nice to get the location, but at least we know she's still alive, or was when this was filmed. "Bobby said.

"Did you know she was pregnant?" Rogue asked.

"I recognize the architecture. We are searching for an older home or meant to look older in the English style. I'd say by the limited footage we are looking for a mansion. Gothic Mid Century style. Big enough to hide a secret lab on the main floor." Remy said.

Before Scott could respond further, he received a second email from the same address. He opened it to find a short note that contained an address in Boston and a warning that Scott needed to come now if he wanted to save her.

Without further hesitation, Scott handed his son to Rogue while asking the LeBeaus to guard him, and the rest filed out of the room. It had occurred to everyone sitting there, including Scott, that this could be a trap. They all knew that it was entirely possible that this was a trick to either get a chance to recapture the LeBeaus or the remaining Summers. They weren't going to just let the only lead they'd had in weeks pass however. So the LeBeaus locked down the mansion as soon as the Blackbird had departed, leaving them,Nathan, and Xavier in relative safety.

Logan would have preferred to leave Scott behind as well, either in the Mansion or on the plane, but he knew the other man wasn't going to stay away. With this in mind,Logan handed over control of the plane to his wife to head toward the back to speak to Scott. "I know you won't listen to reason, so I need to you to give your word that you'll stick to me. The last thing any of us need is to have to rescue you as well."

"I'll be on you constantly Logan, but don't ask me to stay behind. I can't, she's my wife." Scott said in return.

"Did you know about the pregnancy?" Logan asked after a nod.

"I did. I assume you did as well. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Why didn't you? Because we had no idea if there would be a second child. I saw no reason to add to your pain, or anyone ease's" Logan said.

Scott nodded. That had been his reasoning as well. He wanted to be angry with Logan about not saying anything, but how could he when he hadn't either. What worried Scott was even though she was clearly pregnant, he had no idea what she had been injected with, but it was close to the baby. If Sinister had harmed them in any way, he wasn't sure how he would react.

Rogue was re-watching the footage, in hopes of finding some clues that may help the others. They had an address, and a partial layout thanks to the tape, but she wanted to make sure nothing had been missed. Charles had returned to his study, Remy was watching the monitors with Nathan in his lap, so Rogue was trying to remain busy. She'd already been through this before, and last time they had only found half of the people they were looking for. She hoped they were completely successful this time.

The others arrived in Boston a few minutes after leaving the mansion, thanks to the Blackbird's speed. They landed in a park not far from the address and left a Jamie dupe to watch over the plane, while the rest of them filed out, including three other Jamies. It didn't take them long to locate the address, but Logan felt something was wrong right away. He could smell Sinister and the Marauders in the building, but the scent was fading. He was certain they'd already gone.

They entered the building cautiously, though Logan wasn't expecting trouble. It was once a factory, around the turn of the last century, and had since become more of a warehouse. The crumbling red brick exterior had them prepared for a poor interior and they were right, to begin with. The main room they entered was covered in dust and long forgotten crates. The walls exposed brick, bits of plaster walls still barely clinging here and there. The floors were warped by time and neglect. Nearly all of the lights,which consisted of single exposed bulbs hangings here and there, were burnt out.

If not for Logan's assurance that this was the correct location the others would have assumed either a trick or a trap. Logan still hadn't ruled out either option. As they made their way slowly to the basement stairs on the other side of the room, Logan too the lead. As soon as they reached the basement they found what they had expected to begin with. In stark contrast to the floor above, the basement hallway was brightly lit. The wall were clean and white, the tiled floor sparkling. Upstairs had smelled of dust and decay. The smell of a space closed off and long forgotten, but down here it smelled of antiseptic and floor cleaner. This area was kept as clean as any hospital any of them had ever entered.

Steel doors ran the length of the hallway in evenly spaced ten foot intervals. Each door neatly marked with the room behind it on a brass plate. Logan growled low in his throat as they passed the third door. He could smell the faint tint of blood beyond it, and wasn't sure he wanted some of the team to see what laid inside the room. He knew he had no choice. The mission was to retrieve their missing member, and that's what he intended to do. Not yet though, first he needed to distract the others so he could have time to assess the situation.

"Cyclops, you,Iceman,and Angel check the room at the end of the hall. Pyslocke, Multiple,Storm and Laura, check the file room for anything relevant. Sinister and his men are gone, lets see what we can find." Logan said.

The others nodded, some more visibly upset by this news than others. Scott seemed to crumble under it at first, before throwing a mas of determination on to lead the others. One loo at Laura, and he knew she could smell what lay beyond the door as-well. She then turned and followed the others without a word, As soon as the hallway cleared, Logan entered the room. It was as bad as he expected.

Jean laid thrown in a corner of the room. A bed, which was a metal cot with a thin mattress, not five feet from her. The lighting in the room was din after being in the hallway, but Logan could see Jean's pale complexion and bright hair. She was dressed in a gray shift, shoe-less,with nothing covering her legs.

She was curled into a tight ball, where she had landed, apparently lacing the strength to crawl even as far as the cot. Logan approached her cautiously, still fearing a trap until he was right beside her. He knew before he touched the delicate sin of her throat,above her pulse point what he would find.

They had arrived to late for the young mother. Perhaps minutes, perhaps hours, but to late. She was still warm, but she was gone. As Logan lifted her gently to the cot to wrap her in the thin blanket upon it he realized so was her baby. Her baby, however still had a chance. The wound that was poorly sealed on her abdomen told him that. Sometime recently, the child had been removed. It was likely the cause of death for the mother, but the child might still live.

Logan quickly calculated how long Jean had been missing, adding in when he had realized she was pregnant before she was gone, and how long it too him to detect the hormone change generally. The pregnancy would have been between the 30th and 32nd week. Too early to survive without a hospital. Yet Sinister's labs they'd encountered suggested that would not be a problem.

After Logan was certain the body could not be easily seen by the others he called them all back to him. Jamie and Elizabeth had copied all the files to a flash-drive, the others had taken hard copies of the files on hand that had been left behind. As soon as Scott saw her, he broke down into tears. Logan had Elizabeth and a couple of Jamies take him back to the blackbird, then returned his attention to his team.

He wasn't letting the trail go cold this time. He couldn't afford to waste time, and neither could that unknown child. He nodded to the team before carrying the body up the flight of stairs back into the dim world above. Logan wasn't certain if Scott had been aware of the pregnancy before she had been taken, Scott had never mentioned it. It was entirely possible the first he knew of it was the tape they'd received a few hours ago. Even if he had been, chances were the blow that he now had another missing child out there somewhere was liable to break him. For that reason alone Logan held his tongue.

He needed to get Scott back to the mansion before he began his search. He needed to ensure that everyone was home safe before it began, but he vowed he would set the world on fire before he let this child go. He was getting the Summers baby back, no matter what it cost.

~o~0~o~

The LeBeaus were waiting in the hanger as the others deboarded the plane. Xavier not far behind them. Logan had contacted Charles separately, telepathically, to let him know the extent of the situation. Scott exited the plane last, a numb expression on his face. Rogue carefully approached him with Nathan. She wasn't sure he would want to hold the baby right now. Scott reached for his son and with a nod to the others walked out of the hanger and to the elevator without a word. Logan carried Jean to the med-lab as the others all stood waiting for information. Logan had forbidden anyone from disturbing the blanket covered body on the way home, so though they all knew she was dead, they also all felt that something more was happening. After Logan returned to the hallway a few minutes later, Xavier sighed and called a meeting.

Everyone,aside from Scott and Nathan, arrived in the war room quickly. Charles waited until all had settled into a seat before beginning. "My source, I'm afraid, was too late in discovering Jean's location. As you all now we were warned just a few hours ago of the location of the lab. Jean was already deceased when Logan discovered her body. I'm afraid I have further bad news. The search is not over. Shortly before Jean's passing she gave birth to a second child. That child is now missing. We must find him or her and quickly. Not only is the child in the care of a madman, the child is also premature. It needs highly advanced care if we have hope of saving it, and the more time that passes the more dangerous it is for him or her."

With this announcement the room broke into chaos as everyone tried to speak at once. Logan however cleared his throat silencing them immediately before speaking. " I'm taking Laura and Victor with me and we're tracking that baby down. I ain't gonna take anyone else, it'll just slow me down. When I find em I'll let you now and if we need it we will call you for help. For now wait here and prepare. This may come to battle."

Everyone nodded in agreement before Logan gathered Laura and called Victor to let him know the three of them were going hunting. Charles was left with the unhappy task of letting the grieving man know what was happening now, and the others went to prepare for a fight. For some that meant running the danger room, for some it meant ensuring all their supplies and uniforms were in good condition. For others it meant sitting and brooding over the situation as well as worrying about that tiny infant that none of them knew about until earlier in the day. All of them new Logan was going to make those bad guys wish they'd never messed with the Wolverine.

A/N:

This chapter is late, and I apologize. My father passed away unexpectedly last Wednesday, and I haven't been up to posting...in light of this, next wee's chapter may be a day or two late as well. I hope you all are enjoying the story so far, and thank you for your understanding in this matter.


	36. Chapter 36

What is to Come

Chapter Thirty Six

They buried Jean in the rose garden. It was Ororo's idea, Jean had loved the roses. Some were a bit surprised that Ororo offered this, as some of her roses had to be disturbed in the process, but those who new both wmen well weren't surprised at all. Over the last couple of years their relationship shifted from teacher and student to colleague and friend.

It rained through the sevice, another thing none of the members of the household were surprised by, though the local media did note the strange weather pattern the hung solely over Bayville. Scott held his son in his arms through out the service, the baby unaware of what was happening slept through most of it after babbling loudly at the beginning. Rogue and Remy stood next to him, with Piotr and Kitty on the other side. Wanda, John, Pietro, Crystal, Kurt, Amanda, and Erik stood further back in the crowd.

Charles spoke of Jean, and her time in the school but Scott wasn't listening to what was said. Instead he focused his attention on the casket and his silent promises to his wife that he would protect their son and find the new child. No one aside from those standing with him, seemed to notice he wasn't paying attention, though Kitty gently nudged him when it was time to place his rose on top.

After it was over, and everyone had returned to the mansion (Rogue offered to take Nate and for once Scott didn't hesitate) he simply sat on the stone bench next to her grave. He ignored the drizzle the fell at a steady but light pace. He ignored the concerned looks his friends gave him as they left. He couldn't help how he was feeling, and right now he was feeling like this whole thing had been his fault.

If only he had manged to find her sooner. If only he had gone upstairs with her that day. If only they had never met, perhaps she'd be alive right now. Scott knew he would tae back that day if he could, he knew he would never stop wondering how it had taken them so long to find her, but he could never really regret meeting Jean. As much as he blamed himself, as much as he was hurting right now, he would never take back their time together. He would never wish away his son.

Nathan was the only thing holding him together right now. He hadn't even tried to fight Logan when Logan told him to stay herewith his son. He'd just numbly watched Logan go to try to rescue his younger child. A helpless baby forced into the world to soon. He didn't even know if he had a son or daughter. He wondered if the child was still alive. He also felt terrible, because when he thought back to all Sinister had done to himself, part of him hoped the baby wasn't, just so that the child wouldn't suffer.

Part of him knew though that the baby was alive out there somewhere. He couldn't explain how he knew, but he knew. It was almost like his connection to Jean. He couldn't explain it to himself, therefore he hadn't mentioned it to anyone else. He'd seen enough pity in the eyes of his friends over the last few days, he didn't need to see more.

"I know right now it doesn't feel like it's ever going to get any better. I promise you it will, in time." said a man's voice behind him, Scott was startled enough that he jumped off of his seat and glared at Erik who had come up behind him. "The important thing to remember is not to repeat my mistakes. Don't push your children away to mask your pain. You can never get that time back, if you're lucky enough to get a second chance."

"I just buried my wife, and my son isn't even a year old. I doubt he'll remember that at his mother's funeral his father stepped away for a few minutes. If he does ever remember it, I'll make sure he understands that I just needed space for the day. What would you know anyway? You never had anything to do with your kids until recently."

"That is how I know Scott. Years ago, following the loss of my wife and daughter, I pushed my children away. I sent Pietro to live with extended relatives, and I put Wanda in a hospital, and I gave Lorna up completely. Until she tracked me down in Genosha to confront me, I had no idea she would know where to look. It wasn't until I nearly lost my son I realized what I had nearly given up. I would not wish that on you, or anyone else."

"... I don't know that you've been informed or not, I don't know how much Charles tells you, but I'm going to have to leave Nate sometimes. I have to because Nate is not an only child. I have to find my son or daughter, they are still out there somewhere in the clutches of a madman. I don't know if years from now my son will understand or remember any of this, but I'm not going to tell him he had a sibling out there but I refused to look."

"No one's asking you to do that Scott, I'm simply reminding you not to forget your son in your pursuit of your other child." Erik said as he turned away from the grieving man. "It's a terrible fate to lose a child, or a wife. Especially a child. I have faced it before myself, and only wish to offer you my aide to see you through this."

Scott nodded and gave a curt thanks before waling away himself. Though the man may know what it was like to lose those you love could he really now what it was like to now your child still lived but was out of your reach? Could any of them really understand the feeling?He couldn't fail this child, it was bad enough he failed his wife. He wondered sometimes, why this madman targeted him and Jean. He had done nothing to invoke the man's anger, nor was he that extraordinary in his own opinion, yet he somehow became a target to this monster's ire.

While Scott was being kindly lectured on how to deal with his grief, Remy and Rogue were on the other side of the garden enduring her brother's latest attempt to get them to join him on Genosha. Both were becoming increasingly irritated with Kurt as he tried to talk them into the move. "Look Kurt." Rogue finally said. "I miss you and everything, but I can't just leave, not with that baby still missing. Not without finding out why all this is happening."

"All this is happening because your husband painted a target on the X-en's back by agreeing to allow a madman to put him under the knife!" Kurt said. He failed to notice Remy paling under the accusation, but Rogue didn't. "All of this is because he's a selfish coward who already cost a friend her life and I won't stand by while he costs me my sister as well. I know you probably can't see it Rogue, and I can see that he didn't know what he was getting into but this is all on him. One day you will wake up and realize that standing with a traitor instead of your family did nothing but cause you pain and suffering-"

"If you are finished? Good! First of all, Remy is not a traitor and never has been. Secondly, he didn't know what the man was when he agreed to help. Help to control his powers before he hurt somebody. You may not know what it's like to have an uncontrollable power capable of harming those you love but I do, so back off. Third, if Remy hadn't warned us the Morlocks would be dead right now. Spyke would be dead. That little baby in there would never have been born at all, so before you go around claiming things are on his head think about that. Finally, all of this? The registration crap, the hunting us down, the taking of the Summers' all of it, that had nothing to do with Remy. He was planning all of this long before he met Remy, if Remy had stayed it all still would have happened, if Remy had refused him to begin with all of it would have happened, so don't go adding to the guilt I already have to fight every single day for of this is because of him!"

"You were kidnapped and tortured because of him!" Kurt yelled in response.

"I was kidnapped and tortured because a madman decided he wanted to experiment on me. If you can't stop then you just need to go."

"Are you really choosing him over me? I'm your brother."

"He is my husband. And as much family to me as you are."

Rogue then waled away from her brother,leading her husband along the path, and refusing to look back. Until Kurt was ready to see he was wrong, she wanted nothing further to do with him. Remy already spent to much time blaming himself, he didn't need anyone else helping him there.

Kurt watched his sister walk away with hurt and anger in his eyes. He wished she could see how bad this relationship was for her and how much danger she was in. If Remy really loved her, he like Piotr would at least send her away, if not come with her. No one else could see this, not even his own wife, who told him more than once that he was wrong and that if he brought it up to Rogue he was likely to lose his sister. At least temporily. He had argued that she had to see reason, to which she countered that he was sounding lie he own family or Kurt. Kurt refused to see a similarity which had lead to their first fight just before he had gotten on the plane.

He was surprised how quickly Rogue not only jumped to Remy's defense but had so completely sided with him that she would walk away from her own brother in favor of him. Confused and irritated, Kurt decided to see out his old friend, Bobby, to have someone on his side.

Bobby was sitting in the security room when Kurt found him, watching the feeds of the gates. Logan had insisited that someone remain on watch the entire day and Bobby had offered to take this slot. Logan, Bobby, and Remy especially were concerned about security breeches during the funeral. Scott was always concerned about breeches, as was Rogue. Kurt sat next to his friend and watched with him for a few minutes.

"Rogue's angry with me." Kurt finally said. "I tried to tal her into coming home with me, and it exploded into a fight and now she isn't speaking to me."

"Rogue's as determined as the rest of us to get Jean's baby back. I would be shocked if she'd agreed to go." Bobby replied never taking his eyes from the monitors. "Don't see why she'd stop talking to you over it though. More than once Logan and Remy have tried to talk her into going to Genosha while they search for Sinister, and she still talks to them."

"I was trying to reason with her, so I pointed out that Gambit put us in this situation to begin with, so it makes no sense to me why she trusts him more than me."

"Gambit's her husband. Plus none of this is his fault. Seriously Kurt." Bobby said finally glancing away to give him a glare. " You sound like Scott over Emma. We can't trust her, she's obviously betrayed us. Why are you worried about her. Er don't know what Emma's up to but I now she would never betray me. Just like Remy would never betray Rogue."

"Emma's engaged to another man Bobby. You have to see she's over you now. From what I heard Shaw is in bed with Sinister too, so she is just as bad as Remy." Kurt said with a shake of his head. "How can you , either of you, put so much faith in someone who already proved they aren't worthy of it?"

"...Now I see why she isn't talking to you." Bobby said. " Some of us trust the ones we love to do the right thing. If you can't see this then I don't see this conversation going any further. You of all people Kurt should know appearances can be deceiving."

"There's a big difference in the way you loo and the things you do Bobby!"

"Yes there is. But can you honestly say that none of us have ever been deceived into thinking a bad person was on our side? That they weren't even bad? What about Rogue? Maybe she sees that Remy isn't responsible for what happened because she too was tricked into thining someone was out to help her that really only wanted to use her."

"That was different!"

"How?"

"Because...but.. Mystique is her mother, she'd didn't intend to hurt Rogue."

"She wanted to use Rogue to end the world. Same thing as hurting her, and not really any different than wanting to use Remy to end the Morlocs is it. Do you know why they understand each other? Because they both realized what they'd gotten into and they both got out. They don't judge each other for past mistakes. I for one am not going to judge either one of them for what another person did."

"But...He's bad for her! He's keeping her away from her family!" Kurt said.

"Didn't you hear me tell you he's tried to talk her into going. He isn't keeping her from you Kurt, she's doing that all on her own and if you keep pushing her she won't want to see you at all anymore."

"You- you just can't see it." Kurt said, disappointed that Bobby hadn't seen his side after all. "You're to busy trying to find a way to get a girl back that didn't even want you to see what's going on around here."

"That's enough Kurt." Logan said from behind them. "I know you're stressed, and I now you won't really mean half the stuff you're saying when you calm back down, but if you keep pushing people like this no one will be speaking to you by the time you leave. Before you get the smart idea of repeating yourself, remember two things. One, I already heard everything you said to them both, and two, I've done just as much shit-more actually- as Remy, and I'm standing right here on this side of the line, so let it go."

Kurt left after that, still not agreeing with them, but knowing that he wasn't going to get them on his side. He just wanted his sister safe. He just wanted to protect her, but no one saw what he did. He had been afraid for her since he saw her when they got her back, and now Jean was dead. He just didn't want his sister to be the next funeral he attended.

Erik arrived in the ball room at the same time as Kurt to announce that they would be departing in ten minutes. Kurt quicly searched the crowd for Rogue. He didn't want to leave her in the middle of a fight so he was going to appologize even if he believed everything he had said. Hopefully one day soon she would realize he'd been right, but until then he wanted his sister to be safe,happy, and in his life.

Bobby meanwhile was back to brooding. He had intended to tell Kurt that he suspected Charles knew what was going on with Emma before Kurt had gone off about her. Bobby had seen the footage to the hooded visitor. He recognized Emma's walk anywhere. He also knew that in her diamond form Logan couldn't smell her. He believed that she had come here for a meeting with Charles, but that Charles was keeping it quiet.

Bobby had had a lot of time to go over everything that had happened, and he had decided awhile ago the only thing that made sense to him was that Charles had sent her in on an undercover mission. Between her strange behavior the night she left, and her body language whenever Shaw was seen hugging her, Bobby guessed that Xavier had this all planned he just didn't have any proof, and he didn't know why all the secrecy. He was determined to find out what was really going on, even if it killed him, he needed to know the truth. Which was why as soon as his shift was over, he was getting on a train to Boston. He was going to track her down and demand answers.

A/N: Thank you everyone for your patience. Updates will continue to be slower, but not as slow as this one was, thanks to chaos in personal life at the moment. Expect the next update in about 10 days, than you.


	37. Chapter 37

What is to Come

Chapter Thirty Seven

The house stood in the middle of a grove, far away from the closest town. The likelihood of someone accidentally coming upon it was nonexistent thanks to the tall stone walls surrounding the area, the thick trees, and the location.

It was a grand house, built in the style of his old country. The only sign of sentiment anyone had seen from the man in years, though even his closest allies would never dare to suggest it. This was his sanctuary, far away from his experiments and meddling, and schemes. This is where he came to be truly alone. Very few people knew of this home, and none of them were connected to his other dealings. With one exception.

This was the location on the fateful video. This was where he had brought Jean to deliver her baby, and this is where the child still resided. Beyond the richly decorated and antiqued rooms, in a clinically sterile laboratory laid a tiny baby, clinging to life thanks to technology and her mother's parting gift.

Jean had no way to protect or save her tiny child, so she left the baby with the only chance she could give it, the moment of the child's birth the Phoenix that had been both a curse and a blessing left with the baby. It had been Jean's only chance of surviving, and now it was her baby's only protection.

As the man known to the world by many names stared down at this tiny weak infant, he seemed unaware of the mother's parting gift. He looked instead at the tiny child with a detached interest he bestowed on all his subjects. If the twinge of remembered children of his past came to him at all in that moment, none would be the wiser.

Instead he made note of the name and size of the tiny infant, leaving her with the gift he knew her mother had left her. "Subject Rachel Summers is recovering well from delivery. Weight, 2.9 pounds, Length 15.7 inches. Experiment considered successful. Continued monitoring expected." He paused in his writing to look through a notebook nearby. "Henceforth subject with be referenced X1243."

~o~0~o~

Kurt had tried to talk to Rogue again following the funeral but she had disappeared somewhere upstairs with Nathan and no one had been willing to help him find her. Both Scott and Remy had advised him to let her calm down before he tried again, Logan had told him to back off, and even Charles had told him to give her time. Eventually he had given up, because Magneto declared it was time to leave.

After Magneto,Kurt, and the other Genoshians left, those that remained settled in to plan their next move. It was agreed then that Rogue would remain at the mansion with Charles and Nathan, Elizabeth and Warren were remaining with her. Scott,Ororo, Logan, Remy, and Victor were going back out in search of the baby, Mystique would remain at her house both to take in new refugees (no one was willing to have the mansion house them with so few X-men there) and to keep an eye on the ones staying behind.

Bobby was going to Boston. Officially he was acting as a courier for Warren, and trying to mend fences with his family. He offered to go there because he intended to look for Emma and talk to her. He was determined to find out why she'd left like she had. He knew some of the others, especially Scott, thought she was a traitor and he should just forget her, which is why he'd never mentioned her recent visit to the mansion while everyone was sick.

He'd seen the footage Logan had decided to hide from everyone. She may have been covered up, but he knew the way she moved... he also knew that aside from Mystique she was the only one he knew of who could hide their scent from Logan. In her diamond form she could anywhere in the mansion without Logan smelling her, she'd mentioned it to Bobby in the past.

He also suspected that Charles was well aware of her visit. He still didn't know what was going on with her, but whatever it was he knew that Charles did. It wouldn't have been the first time Charles withheld information from the team, but he hadn't told anyone else his suspensions. Instead he intended to find the answers for himself.

Rogue wasn't really happy being benched again, especially with Remy going. Someone had to watch after Nathan though, and it made sense for it to be her, as she was the one who watched him most often when Scott needed a sitter. The baby knew her best, it would be easiest on him. Still, she had no intention of letting them turn her into a babysitter full time. She was one of their best fighters, darn it.

She also couldn't help but feel Warren and Elizabeth were being left behind to babysit her as much as Nathan. This did nothing to improve her mood, especially with her recent fight with her brother. Remy realized she was angry, of course, and tried to comfort her, assuring her that this was not his idea, but Logan's. This did little to relieve her anger, but she was now angry with Logan instead of him. Remy could live with that.

Soon the Blackbird departed headed toward Boston, to drop off Bobby and begin the search. As soon as they were out of sight, Rogue smiled down at Nathan and asked him if he was ready for a snack. He agreed quickly, at just over a year old he knew very few words, but food was close to the top of the list.

~o~0~o~

Kurt arrived home to find Amanda waiting for him, anxious to be sure he returned safely. He was glad to see her, and quick to assure her that no one had interrupted the funeral. He then told her about his fight with his sister. Even with others telling him he'd been wrong before, it wasn't until Amanda compared him to her parents that he finally realized why everyone, especially his sister, had been mad at him.

Amanda then stormed angrily into their bedroom, locking the door behind her. Though he could have easily gotten in, Kurt took the message for what it was and made up the guest room for the night. He could her his wife,presumably on the phone with his sister, apologizing for his rude behavior as he laid down. Now he had both Rogue and Amanda to make up to in the morning, he realized with a sigh. He was nearly asleep when he remembered with a groan that tomorrow his parents would be arriving as well, and if he new his mother and father at all, they were going to be disappointed in him when Amanda inevitably informed them of his behavior.

He reminded himself that this was what came from reacting without thinking. He never should have said those things, especially to Rogue. He knew deep down even as he was saying it that he wasn't being fair to Remy. He let his fear for his sister's well being overshadow logic.

He had a hard time falling asleep, now that he had a his wife's perspective in mind, he realized he had to do something to make up with his sister. He couldn't just wait for her to calm down and then talk to her. Their lives were to uncertain for that. What if, god forbid, something were to happen to her like what happened to Jean? He couldn't handle the idea of her going missing or worse while they weren't on speaking terms.

With this in mind, and noting that it would now be morning at the mansion, Kurt decided to try to call her. The call was short however, because as soon as Warren gave Rogue the phone she hung up. Kurt sighed, then redialed the phone. His sister was stubborn especially when she was angry. He hadn't expected her to make this easy but it was going to be impossible if she wouldn't even let him say hi to her.

An hour and six calls later, Warren refused to even try to hand her the phone again. "I'm sorry Kurt, but clearly she doesn't want to hear it right now and all calling her back in her is doing is making her angrier. You know Rogue, just let her calm down awhile. Either that or send her a letter or email."

"How can I tell her I didn't mean anything I said if she won't talk to me?"

"I don't know, but this isn't helping. She just left Nate with Liz so she could go to the DR. Clearly this is just making it worse." Warren sighed. "Get some sleep Kurt call her back when you wake up, I'll try to talk to her in the meantime."

"I'll call back, but don't worry about it Warren, I don't want her mad at you too, especially while you're stuck at the mansion almost entirely alone."

"Okay. Good luck Kurt. You could always try a text if nothing else."

~o~0~o~

Bobby had been safely delivered in Boston, near Warren's office. The others had gone back to the warehouse where the search would begin, and he was on his way to deliver Warren's files. This took all of ten minutes and half of that was the walk, so he had time to kill before he was to meet his mom for lunch.

When he'd called his family home recently, his mom had been the one to answer. She had told him she missed him, and that she loved him. They had been talking regularly since then. It wasn't until he suggested that he come to see her for the day that he realized that not only was his dad still anti-mutant, but that his mom had been hiding their phone calls from him.

Bobby had tried not to be hurt by this, his mother still loved him and wanted to be part of his life. It did hurt though, that his dad rejected him so completely. Bobby shook his head as he walked across the park, this wasn't the time to feel bad for himself. He had a busy week planned, and needed to find a hotel to check into before he met with his mom.

After he'd checked in and dropped off his bag, Bobby began his search. As much as he wanted to see his mom, his real reason for coming to Boston was to track down Emma. He only had a week to find her and determine what kind of trouble she was in before he was expected back at the mansion. He knew if the others new what he was planning they'd be all over him to try and stop him, so he only had one shot at this. Which meant he didn't have time to waste.

He started with the obvious and went to her townhouse. He sat across the street and watched the house for awhile trying to decide if Emma may still be staying here. Judging from the activity he saw, a gardener in the small yard, and a maid arriving around eleven, he decided it was likely she was using the house at least part of the time.

After the gardener mowed the tiny lawn and tended the bushes, Bobby realized it was time for him to go as well if he wanted to make it to lunch. He'd just stood to walk back across the par when Emma arrived in a dark car. The driver helped her with her packages in the trunk. Emma turned at the last minute, just before walking into the house, and Bobby could have sworn she'd seen him.

He made his way quickly to the restaurant, in a better mood than he'd been in months. His mom was already seated when he arrived. "How are you doing Robert?"

"I'm okay Mom, how are you doing?"

"Fine. How's it going at that school you work for? What is it you do for them now."

"Everything's fine at the mansion, but we don't actually have any students at the moment, so I'm not sure we qualify as a school. More a halfway house at this point. I'm in charge of the budget. Well me and Warren are in charge of the budget."

"That's nice, hunny." His mom said.

They chatted about general things as their food arrived and they ate, before she insisted on paying the bill, then as they stood she handed him an envelope. "Please take this."

"...Mom, I didn't call to borrow money. I didn't ask to see you because I needed anything other than to know someone, anyone in my family still loved me. I don't need or want this."

"Bobby please, you have some undefined job in an undefined location with questionable people. Take the money. I don't want my child to suffer, I don't want to wake up to hearing you froze to death."

"Well, that's just never going to happen mother." Bobby said. "Considering my power is controlling ice, I can't freeze to death. I don't need money. I have money. What I need is a family."

"How can you just talk about your condition like that?"she said looking around to make sure no one had overheard them. " What if someone was listening? Please just take it, I would feel better knowing you had it."

"It's not a condition mom, there is no cure, and even if there was I wouldn't want it. I'm okay with who I am. I really just don't need this mom. You and Dad need this more than I do. I have money in the bank. I am paid well for my job."

"I don't even know what your job is! How can I be sure you're safe."

"None of us are safe mom, because of people like dad. I gotta go I love you." Bobby then walked out before she could respond. It probably wasn't fair of him to compare his father's rejection to people like Kelly and Creed but Bobby didn't really feel like being fair right now. He saw the hurt expression on her face as he left, and knew it may effect his ability to talk to her again later, but he was also annoyed and hurt that she thought so little of him.

~o~0~o~

Warren came into the kitchen and smiled down at the baby in the highchair. Rogue was at the stove stirring something in one of the smaller stockpots. It smelled spicy, similar to the kitchen when her husband cooked, so Warren assumed that she had borrowed one of his recipes for dinner. "Hey buddy." Warren said as he rubbed the baby's head.

Nate smiled at him and babbled as he offered Warren a soggy cracker. Warren smiled once again and told the baby to keep it. He then looked back at Rogue who had yet to acknowledge his presence. "What's for dinner?"

"I'm not talking to him. I don't want to talk to him, I don't care that everyone thinks I'm being childish so don't bother." Rogue said as she turned off the stove. " Gumbo, and biscuits for dinner, and yes it's Remy's recipe. It's finished now, Serve yourself whenever you feel like it. Nate needs a bath."

Rogue then scooped up the young boy and left the room before Warren could respond. He stared after her for a moment before shaking his head. "That could have gone better." he muttered before sending a mental message to Elizabeth and Charles telling them that dinner was ready and moving the pot to the table.

The other two joined him as he added a basket of biscuits and bowl of salad to the center. Elizabeth asked where Rogue and the baby were, but Warren just shrugged. Charles sighed as he ladled the spicy stew into their bowls. "She will be back to eat herself once we have finished. Between Kurt's hurtful statements and her annoyance at being left behind, I'm afraid she isn't feeling sociable this evening."

"It doesn't help that Kurt's been calling all day, or that Remy went with the others this time." Warren added as they all began to eat. "Why was she left behind when he was allowed to go?"

"You mean to ask why he was allowed to go with the others I believe?" Charles said. "Remy will be invaluable to this trip. I believe, and Logan agreed, that his former career path may come into play for this mission."

"As for why Rogue is still here, she knows Nate better than you or I do, it would be unfair to the child to leave him with people he doesn't know when we don't know how long they'll be gone." Elizabeth added. "Plus the last thing anyone wants or needs is for Rogue to end up captured like Jean. Keeping her here keeps her safe."

"She'd be safe with them. Don't you think Logan and Remy would keep her in their sight at all times? Let's face it, she'd probably be safer with them than she is here at the moment." Warren said. He wasn't entirely certain why he was pushing for Rogue to join the team, but he knew she was miserable left behind.

"Nathan is safest with her here however." Charles said. "After Logan, she is the best bodyguard the child could hope for at the moment. If we were attacked, she could borrow any power she needed, including those of the attackers. Nathan knows her and feels safe with her, and if she were with Logan and Remy they would both be distracted as they tried to protect her, which would serve to annoy her further and complicate the mission. I would have preferred if Remy and Scott had remained here as well, however I knew that Remy's skills were needed and that Scott would not have stayed behind."

"So basically I drew the short straw without even knowing I was drawing?" Rogue said. "I can live with that. Next time though Professor, please just tell me that instead of benching me and making me feel like you don't trust I can preform the mission."

"I apologize Rogue, that was not my intention." Charles said as Rogue joined them at the table after setting a freshly washed Nathan in his playpen.

"As for Kurt, I'll talk to him when I'm ready to talk to him, so please just tell him that next time he calls." Rogue said. The others nodded, and Rogue filled her own bowl. " Sorry I snapped at you earlier Warren, I just knew you were about to mention my brother and I didn't want to fight about it."

"It's okay Rogue. I know family can be complicated."

Everyone ate in silence for a few minutes, aside from the baby babbling to himself, before Elizabeth asked if anyone had heard from Bobby or the team yet. Warren and Charles both shook their heads, and Rogue frowned. They all hoped this mission was successfully over soon.


	38. Chapter 38

What is to Come

Chapter Thirty Eight

Bobby approached the townhouse with caution. He knew Emma was here, but thanks to that ill-advised lunch with his mother he had no idea who else may be here. He also didn't know if he would be welcomed. Just because he was pretty sure Emma had seen him earlier didn't mean that she wanted him to visit her.

He crept around the back of the building, making sure not to be seen, after he watched the maid leave for the day. Through the kitchen window he could see Emma at the sink, filling a tea kettle. He walked over to the french doors on the patio and knocked gently on the glass.

Emma looked up at him, and he heard the familiar sound of her voice in his head telling him the door was unlocked. He let himself in as she set the kettle on the unlit stove. "I was wondering how long it would take you to come." Emma said.

"I wasn't sure I would be welcome." Bobby replied as he stepped closer.

"Darling, I told you the night I left, no matter what happens, no matter what you may hear, I love you." Emma said, inside his head, as she smiled briefly at him. Aloud she added. "I haven't seen you in the longest time."

Bobby wasn't sure if she was worried about being overheard from someone in the house, or if the house was bugged, but he understood right away that she couldn't talk freely here. He nodded slightly to let her know he'd gotten the message before saying out loud. "Well you know they eventually were going to send someone to see how you were doing and if you'd reconsider. We are short staffed after all."

"Yes, I assumed sooner or later I would get such a visit." Emma agreed,playing along. "As I said before however, I do not feel the Institute has anything further to offer me."

"That's to bad."Bobby said, before mentally adding. "Meet me when you can." and handing her a copy of his room card. They had issued him two at the time he checked in. "Well if you're sure I can't change your mind?... I should probably be going, there are others on my list after all."

"It was nice seeing you Mr. Drake. I hope all goes well for you." Emma replied as she showed him out, adding silently that she would come by later that evening.

~o~0~o~

Logan was impatient to attempt to pick up the trail, though he knew it would likely drop just outside the warehouse. Inside, the others were searching for clues while he stood at the end of the hallway waiting and growing impatient as they walked back and forth over the signs that he needed to follow.

Remy was in the lab,working on the computers to try to retrieve the data that had been dumped off of them, Scott was in Jean's cell searching for anything she may have left behind,while trying not to look at the spot where they had found her. Ororo was searching the offices for clues, Piotr was helping Ororo and John (who had stayed with his wife's blessing and understanding) was by Remy's side.

After a few minutes, Remy sighed before shutting down the system and then he began unplugging everything. John looked at him questioningly, before Remy explained that he needed more time to sort through all of the files, so he intended to take the computers back to the mansion where he could work on it without slowing down the search. John nodded in understanding before he began to help. Logan, who had overheard their conversation, came in a few minutes later with a dolly, commenting that they would drop Remy and the computers off along the way.

"Along the way where exactly?" Scott said in a flat voice as he joined the others.

"On the the way of searching the trail." Logan said. "Remy can take the plane back to the mansion, John can join him if he wishes, the rest of us are renting a car."

"Do you think you will be able to follow them far this time?" Ororo asked as she and Piotr joined the others.

"Far enough. Victor and Raven have already begun. They at least left the city the traditional way." Logan said,the dolly now loaded they all walked to the elevator.

With in minutes, John and Remy were securing the computers onto the plane while the others followed Logan down the street. Remy then called ahead to the mansion as they secured the plane to let them know he and John were on their way back, but the others were still on the search.

Logan sent Ororo and Piotr to rent the car while he and Scott followed a path only he could find. Logan hadn't said anything to Scott or the others, because without a previous contact he couldn't be completely certain; however he was almost sure the baby, where ever it was, was not with whoever they were following.

In fact, though Jean had clearly recently given birth, he had detected no trace of the baby ever being in the warehouse at all. It was his belief that Jean had given birth elsewhere, then brought there. He didn't know why, nor did he know why this time there was a trail to follow at all, but he suspected a trap.

He would have preferred to send Scott back to the mansion with the others, but knew that Scott wasn't going to leave the search this time. At least, Logan thought, the other two were safely out of harm's way. Scott was the only one he had to keep an eye on.

Logan hoped he was wrong, that somehow Sinister had made a mistake and this path was leading them straight to the baby. He didn't believe that, but he hoped for it. As reached a busy intersection, a car pulled up with the others. Logan and Scott got in, and Logan rolled down his window. This served both to allow him to continue to follow the path and to avoid answering and questions.

Victor and Raven would wait for them from where Victor had called him a few minutes earlier. Soon they would be underway, either to a trap or hopefully answers. Either way, they all knew a battle was coming.

~o~0~o~

Rogue was glad to have Remy back at the mansion so quickly. She left Nathan in Elizabeth's care for a few minutes so that she could help John and Remy set the computers back up in one of the sub-level labs. At least with them here, she didn't feel like she was on house arrest anymore, plus she could hopefully help them with the search of the computers.

Remy was rather quiet during the process, which she was worried about. She hoped the things her brother said wasn't getting to him, but she knew him well enough to assume that they were. After John left to find out if they had anything he wanted in the kitchen, she decided to break the silence. "Kurt's an idiot. You know that, right Rem?"

"Oui. Maybe.'Remy said as he hooked up the last of the cables. "But he's not completely wrong,Cherie. Face it, Sinister... He was coming either way, we know this, but if not for me, can we be sure he would have come for you?"

"Yes. We can be sure of that. Everyone who's ever found out about my power came after me Remy. Everyone. Magneto wanted my powers, Mystique adopted me for my powers. You even wanted my powers when you needed help. Sinister wanted them too. I'm pretty sure even Xavier wanted them and he's on the 'good' side. It's just how it is." Rogue said, then came around so that her husband had no choice but to look at her.' The fact remains, it wasn't me he really wanted was it? Because it wasn't me he took this time. It wasn't me he's been obsessing over. It wasn't me who's out in the garden. Now we need to figure out why and what he's really after and we ain't gonna be able to do that if you're busy obsessing over what you could have done differently."

"He destroys everything he touches." Remy agreed. "We need to know why he wanted the others, but you he took because he was punishing me. I just don't want to see you hurt Anna. I don't know I can survive what Scott has. I can't lose you."

"Scott's surviving because his children need him to, he's not stronger or better than you or anyone else, he's a father."

"I'm not." Remy said. 'honestly I'm glad I'm not with the way things are. I know we talked about it before, but with the way things are I'm not sure we should keep trying until this thing with Sinister is settled."

"Sinister''s gonna do what he's gonna do. We can't sit here waiting to begin our lives until the perfect time. As far as being on the fence goes, you better make up your mind on it , and do it fast. You ain't going to have a choice but to be okay with it." Rogue said. "I'm going to go make sure John doesn't burn down the kitchen, you have work to do."

Rogue left before Remy could say anything. He stared after her for a full minute before he got up to follow her. What she had said sinking in as he tried to catch up before she got on the elevator. Logan at least had to know, he realized. No wonder he was so quick to agree to send Remy back to the mansion.

~o~0~o~

It was getting late, Bobby had nearly given up for the night and was preparing to go to bed when the soft knock at his door alerted him just before Emma slipped in. Emma set down her purse as he came out of the bathroom, toothbrush in one hand and the other securing his towel. He smiled a little embarrassed as he grabbed the robe he'd left on the bed, not expecting anyone and pulled it on quickly.

Emma held up a small bag. "I brought dinner, but if you already ate...'

"No, no it's fine." Bobby said, sitting down at the table and gesturing for her to join him. "I can always eat again, you know that."

Emma laughed slightly and nodded before joining him at the table, and unpacking the plastic covered dishes. She had picked up Chinese on the way over, knowing that Bobby liked the restaurant from the conversations they'd had at the mansion. "I wasn't followed, I made sure of it, but I also doubled back over my path a few times, to make it look like I was just out shopping. Sorry it took so long to get here.'

"It's okay. I'd assumed you weren't able to get away for the night and was just going to relax with a movie before bed. This is better." Bobby said with a smile.

"There's so much I want to tell you, but I can't." emma said sadly.

"It's okay, Em. I trust you. I know that you have to be doing all this for a good reason. I love you." Bobby said.

"You shouldn't. You shouldn't trust me or love me after all of this, everything I've been doing, but I'm so glad you do." Emma replied.

Bobby didn't know what to say to this, it was, in his opinion, so similar to conversations he'd overheard between Kurt and Amanda or Remy and Rogue, but he wasn't Kurt or Rogue, he didn't know how to find the words to assure Emma that everything was going to be okay.

~o~0~o~

Logan and his team had met with victor and Raven several hours ago, the rest of the group followed slowly behind now, as Logan and victor took the lead, and Laura and Raven guided them. Raven would periodically check to see if the men were still in front of them by flying ahead and then returning. Laura was sitting in the front passenger seat with the window down so she could follow their trail.

For the most part, the others rode in silence. It was a tense trip, no one voicing their opinion that this was likely going to be either a dead end or a trap. Likely both. Just because the odds were against them, didn't mean anyone was willing to give up on a chance to find the child. Though there were a couple of people among them that wondered if the child was still alive.

They all knew Jean had delivered the baby early even before Scott grudgingly admitted that the child had to be premature. No one was willing to suggest to the grieving man that it may be too late. Laura, like Logan and Victor were not among those in doubt. They knew that the child had been alive the last time it had been anywhere near Jean, and they knew the capabilities of this madman. Truly Sinister was a monster beyond doubt, but he was also able to preform medical feats that should be impossible. A premature baby barn in a high tech lab wasn't even high on the impossible list. Babies survive in regular hospital NICUs, so the idea that one wouldn't in his care was one they weren't considering.

If the others who were in doubt had the experiences these three, as well as Scott and Remy, had with this, they would understand why the others believed they would find the child alive. What they feared more, was what horrible experiments he might be putting the poor baby through. What they were hoping for was that he would decide the child was to fragile to begin any testing on.

Scott was the one who finally broke the silence, by asking Ororo to call the mansion and see if Remy had had any luck with the computers yet. He was afraid that the systems would somehow know they'd been moved or something and erase themselves. Ororo agreed, and made the call. Everyone sat in a new tenseness as they waited for a response.

John, who had offered to watch the security room for awhile, answered the phone on the second ring. When Ororo asked him if she could speak to Remy, he said. "Remy's busy down in the basement cracking codes and freaking out over some conversation with Rogue earlier. I don't think it's a good idea to bother him right now. He's got that crazy, speak to me and I'll end you, thing going for him right now. That's why I'm up here instead of offering my expertise."

"Oh. I was unaware that you knew how to brak into computer files." Ororo said, while trying to make sense of the rest of John's statement."

"Pah. Don't insult me." John laughed. "Do you really think out of all the mutants he could have picked, that he would have recruited me without any skills? I know I'm awesome, but awesome don't get the work done does it? It isn't all fire and flash."

"I didn't mean to offend you,John." Ororo said politely,trying to regain control of the conversation.

"It's fine. I know it's hard to see someone this sexy, and assume there may be a brian as well." John replied.

Ororo couldn't tell if he was joking or serious, so she chose to ignore his statement, and asked if he had any updates at all. John, who had just been messing with by thay point, stopped chuckling long enough to tell her that the last time he'd checked, Remy had managed to get past all the passwords and was going through the files in search of information. Unfortunately, Sinister's files were all labeled with serial numbers and no other data which meant having to open and skim nearly every file in the database. They didn't seem to have a numarical order as far as "Subject 1 is the first Subject, Subject 2, ect, ect. Instead he seemed to have an odd filing system that John hadn't been able to figure out before he decided that Remy needed space.

~o~0~o~

He was pleased with the results of the testing. The man known As Sinister allowed himself the slightest of smiles as he looked over the read out. The Subject's lungs were developing even faster than he had hoped. Thanks to the treatment, he would be able to unhook her from the ventilator in the next few days. Making a final note, he left the bedside of his patient, and set the clipboard at the foot of the isolet. Now for the tedious part. To speak with the parents and show the appropriate amount of concern.

Dr. Nicoloas Monroe, as he was currently known, had worked in the high risk nursery for the last eighteen months. He was already gaining notoriety for his success rate and advances in neonatal medicine, which meant he needed to conclude this experiment soon.

It was a shame, in his opinion, that the world of technology had made staying in the shadows more difficult. Not impossible, just more difficult. He had selected this Naval base because in the past, working for the governments made staying away from the press easier,longer. Now however, they were already pressing him to write a paper of his his work, and more importantly, since the papaers he wrote in the past could fill a novel, they wanted to interview him.

Still, he needed to conclude his work here, before he continued his new pet project. The child in his private lab had begun the same treatment as soon as he had delivered her, but his wanted to ensure the success rate before he continued. She was far to valuable of a subject to take the risk on. After all, she was the offspring of two very powerful mutants, she was bound to be an excellent subject.

Turning his mind back to the task at hand, Dr. Monroe entered the parents' lounge. He looked around briefly before spotting the subject's- the patient's parents. They were sitting quietly in the corner, talking to another of his subject's mother as the women expressed their was a sight he had yet to grow used to.

He had been raised in a Victorian culture, where fathers and other men were not frequent visitors among the women as they expressed milk. Indeed, the devices these women were using did not exist when he was young. It would have been considered improper in his youth for the casual co-mingling of the sexes during such a private matter. He shrugged the matter off as yet another thing he had to adjust to with the changing world around him, and approached the parents.

He forced the usual polite smile onto his lips as he said. "I do not mean to interrupt."

Both women waived away his statement, and offered him to join them. Reluctantly he sat down in the remaining chair in their corner. Luckily it was placed in such a way that he was sitting directly across from the father and could mostly ignore the women. He preferred to speak to the father in these matters anyway, as mothers, in his opinion, tended to ask more questions.

"I just completed my rounds, and was pleased to see the progress Baby Gose is making." the doctor stated.

"Her name is Kylie, Doctor/ How's she doing?" The mother said.

"Well, Madam, if she continues to progress at the current rate, we should be able to remove the ventilator tomorrow." he said, without looking in her direction.

Both mothers as well as the father seemed pleased with this news. The other mother asked how her own baby was doing. He nodded, the said. "Baby Smithfield is progressing nicely. He is stable at the moment."

She nodded calmly, though she appeared disappointed the news wasn't better. The doctor wasn't surprised on her child's progress however, since he was the infant he had chosen as the control subject, and therefore had not received any of the treatments. He, of course, wasn't going to mention any of this to either mother however. The docotr stayed for a few more minutes before excusing himself to finish his rounds. His shift was nearly over, and he was looking forward to heading home to check on his other subject. He had so many projects to juggle, he was afraid he may have to give up one or two of them if they continued to be so involved.


	39. Chapter 39

What is to Come

Chapter Thirty Nine

Logan and Victor knew it was a trap. Laura and Raven suspected it was a trap. They followed the others into the house anyway. It was more of a cabin than a house, tucked into the woods. Scott and Ororo were at the door almost before the others made it through the woods. Logan growled in frustration, and Victor grumbled. Raven rolled her eyes at the other two and gestured them to follow before carefully and silently catching up.

"I believe that the child is elsewhere." Laura said in a low voice.

"It is, this is getting us nowhere." Victor said, just as low before Logan sighed and followed Raven. It was a trap, but he wasn't letting them go into it alone.

On the other side of the door waited Vertigo and Archlight. As they suspected there was no sign of anyone else. Vertigo stepped forward first , to address Victor. "Ah, so this is where you ran off to this time Sabretooth. The Boss isn't going to be pleased."

"The Boss can shove it up his ass, I don't work for him no more."Victor said in return. "If he wanted loyalty, perhaps he shouldn't force it."

"SO you decide to go play house with a bunch of Goodie Goodies? That's not you either Vicky."

"Maybe I just don' like the idea of him kidnapping helpless kids." Victor said, the two now circling each other in the tight space. "Where's the baby?"

"You had no problem with the idea of helpless kids when you were gutting the Cajun for betraying us." Vertigo said. "Or was that all for show? I noticed he's still around."

"Where's my child?" Scott cut in, tired of the verbal sparing.

"Gone." Vertigo replied,tauntingly."Beyond your reach. You can spend the rest of your pathetic life searching but you'll never find her grave."

Vertigo's laugh was cut off by a beam from Scott's visor shooting her through the wall. He then turned on Archlight, with a second shot before returning his attention to Logan and Victor."Is my baby... my daughter still alive?"

"She was never here kid." Logan said, as he searched the room. "There's no trace of her here."

"She's alive." Raven said.

"How can you be certain?" Ororo asked, stricken.

"Cause of what she said, the way she said it." Victor said, joining Logan in the search. " The baby's fine. Just elsewhere. She was never here, never in that warehouse either. The mother was brought there after the delivery, they laid this trail to distract us."

"SO what do we do now?" Ororo asked, as Scott walked out of the door.

"We check back in at home, see if they've had any luck on the computers." Logan said.

~o~0~o~

Bobby woke alone around three am. It took him a moment to realize what had woken him was the sound of his room door closing. He rolled over toward the door, and spotted the envelope on the pillow beside him, the sheets were still warm, so he knew Emma hadn't left the bed long ago.

She must have planned to leave this for him before she even arrived, he realized. He sat up and opened the letter. There was no point in trying to chase after her, by the time he dressed she would be long gone. Besides, he knew that if she didn't want him to catch up, he wouldn't.

The first page of the letter was written in her neat script he would recognize anywhere. It read. "My Darling Bobby, please forgive me, but I can not stay with you. There is still far to much for me to do here. Just know that my heart will always belong to you, as long as we both shall live. I hope, in time, all can be explained, and that you can forgive me for all that I have done. I'm giving you what I can to help you find Jean's child. It it all I can do at the moment. Love Always, Emma."

The second page was an address, as well as a pass code for a security system, and a hand drawn layout of a house. Bobby barely took a moment to absorb this information before he was out of bed, and throwing on his clothes as he dialed Logan's phone. When the older man answered, Bobby practically yelled at him to come pick him up, and that he had a lead before hanging up to gather his small amount of luggage.

Bobby hoped the others would look past their distrust of Emma long enough to take this lead, because he firmly believed she knew what she was talking about. How she knew was something he didn't want to think about right now.

~o~0~o~

Remy hadn't been to bed yet, he had managed to get past the security on the computers hours ago, and was now going through files in search of a location for the baby. He was trying to simply skim through these files, knowing full well the kinds of things Sinister liked to put his test subjects through. It wasn't completely working. He knew it was likely going to be weeks before he could sleep properly again.

He'd found Jean's file half an hour ago. It had taken him about five minutes to confirm it was Jean, then he began the terrible task of actually reading through it instead of skimming. He was horrified by it, and terrified for his own wife. It was part of what was taking him so long to get through the file, being terrified for Rogue.

Every few minutes he would start to get up to go check on her and make sure she was still upstairs sleeping in their room. He stopped himself more often than not, assuring himself that if anything was wrong Warren or Elizabeth would sound the alarm.

Twice, however, he had made his way upstairs long enough to crack open their door and see for himself that she was still there. The news she had given him earlier today had shaken him completely. Remy wanted to be a father, he loved the idea of becoming a dad and he knew Rogue was going to be a wonderful mother. Sinister is what scared him. The idea that Sinister was out there, somewhere close by. Watching and waiting.

He didn't know how to explain this fear to his wife but he knew he'd done a horrible job trying earlier. She had gone to bed angry with him and had refused to speak to him when he had tried a few hours ago. He had just sat down at the computer again with a heavy sigh when An alarm announced the arrival of the Blackbird.

He joined Warren down in the hanger to greet their teammates, Elizabeth manning the security systems and John,Charles, and Rogue all still asleep. Bobby, Logan, and Ororo were the first off the plane, followed by Raven, Victor, and Laura. Bobby was still clutching the file left to him by Emma that included the address she claimed the baby was being kept.

He handed this file to Remy. "Emma said that we can find the baby here. I hope it helps."

Remy nodded and turned to check the address against the file he was currently reading to see if he could pinpoint anything while Logan told the others to meet in the war room in ten minutes. This would give them enough time to wake their sleeping team mates and Remy confirm the information.

Scott started to follow Remy, but Logan stopped him. "You don't wanna see what's in that file. I know you think you wanna know, but trust me you don't. If Kitty were still here to crack the codes, or anyone else for that matter, I wouldn't let the Cajun read it either."

"She was my wife. I have every right to know what happened to her." Scott said, trying to push past the heavier man. Logan stood his ground with a frown. " Let me by Logan. I want to know."

"Trust him, you don't." Warren said. "I managed to read a bit over Remy's shoulder earlier, and some other people he tested on, and you don't want to know."

"I already lived through it, it can't be worse than that."

"The only thing worse than living through torture is learning someone you care about is going through the same thing." Logan said, as he guided Scott toward the war room. "Feeling that pain is bad Scott, believe me I know, but reading about it is just going to make it worse. For your sake, leave it alone, at least until we get your children safe."

Scott tried once more to get past Logan, but was stopped by a gentle yet firm hand on his shoulder. Ororo said nothing, she just shook her head, and led him to the war room. As soon as they were out of sight, Logan turned to Raven. "Go. Take over for Gambit. He don't need to be reading any of that either, not after everything else they've been through."

Raven agreed and stepped out of the room, the others all followed Logan upstairs, before Warren, Bobby, and Laura each went to tell the others about the meeting.

A few minutes later found the team assembled, with Nathan sleeping in his father's arms, in the war room. Remy was still pale and shaken from all he had read, Rogue was clearly in a bad mood, Scott was clinching his jaw n agitation. Bobby was trying to come up with a good argument in case they decided to ignore Emma's lead. Ororo was whispering quietly with Laura, explaining why they had to wait instead of just going to the address they were given. Finally, Logan entered with Raven, Charles closely following them.

Charles gestured for everyone to sit down, then with a sigh he stated. " Until this information can be confirmed, we can not trust it. Sadly, Ms. Frost's loyalty has come into question, and I therefore can not in good conscience allow a team to follow it blindly. It may take a few days to confirm so I'm asking you all to return to your beds, there will be time to discuss this further in the morning. "

The uproar that followed woke Nathan, who added his protests to the mayhem. No one was willing to just wait, nor did they agree that it was a good idea. Logan and Victor insisted that they at least go to check out the lead. Scott and Remy wanted to join them. Everyone else felt that the whole team should go.

Bobby protested that Emma had done nothing to warrant the level of distrust Charles was displaying, when Charles started to explain Bobby cut him off. "Yes, I know she been in the mansion recently, but the only thing she did while she was here was visit your office! Admit it Professor, she still reporting to you isn't she? But you're gonna throw her under the bus anyway?! You know what, forget this."

Without waiting for a response, Bobby stormed from the room as everyone else turned back to Charles. He sighed tiredly, then told them all to return to bed once again.

" I should have thought of Emma. I can't smell her in her diamond form. " Logan said. He didn't add out loud, but Raven nodded in acceptance that he both suspected her and was now apologizing as much as he would.

"Why did Emma come to see you Professor? And in secret?" Scott asked, confused more than anything. Charles however didn't have anything to say in response to this, instead he followed Bobby out of the room with a final promise to discuss it in the morning.

Scott and Rogue were confused. John was lost not really knowing who Emma was to begin with. Ororo, Laura and Raven just wanted to get going and everyone could tell. Remy, Logan, and Victor however, shared a knowing frown. All three agreed that when a leader started keeping secrets like this they were never up to anything good.

 **A/N:**

 **I'm sorry this chapter took so long to come out. I also apologize in advance, as it is unlikely that I will have another chapter ready until after the holidays.**

 **I do have another short comedy ready except for the last chapter that I will post in the mean time, so you all know I haven't dropped off the planet or something... I'm sorry guys, this story's been a lot harder to work on the last few months, but I will finish it.**


	40. Chapter 40

What is to Come

Chapter Forty

Sinister began the treatment as soon as he returned to his base, and the subject was responding well. It helped that the parents were both mutants, therefore the child would be as well, by his calculations. She wasn't out of danger yet, no where close, but he expected to be able to remove her from the incubator with in a few days.

The Phoenix was helping the child recover as much as his treatment was, not that Sinister had noticed yet. He would come to the realization in the coming days when her recovery was greater than he expected, but for now the child's secret was still safe. Phoenix not only healed and protected the tiny girl, but comforted her as well, weaving wonderful beautiful images of the mother the child would otherwise never know.

Rachel knew her name, though Sinister never used it and most newborns had no real awareness of names. Phoenix told her, to remind her always that she was loved. Phoenix considered,briefly, attempting to contact her previous host's mate. The job of protecting her new host would be a great deal simpler in his custody. How to contact him was the issue. He wasn't a telepath himself, their bond was how Jean found him. Phoenix wondered if the bond would be enough to contact him through the child. She was prepared to make her first attempt but was interrupted when Sinister approached the isolate. She had to hide her presence from him, but she would not allow any harm to befall her host either. Phoenix hid deep within the tiny girl, to remain hidden for as long as possible. It knew that the chances of getting away from Sinister would cease to be altogether if he detected the entity.

~0~O~0~

Bobby was frustrated. Xavier rejected the information Emma had given them without looking it over, and the others just went with it. It had been the only lead they had, and Xavier threw it aside! He knew,knew even without proof, that Emma hadn't turned traitor on them. It didn't make sense to him that she had, between the letter she left him and her late night visits to the mansion.

Bobby spent the better part of the week trying to talk the others into listening to Emma. Logan never commented one way or the other. Ororo simply stated that she trusted Xavier entirely. Scott agreed with Ororo, as did Hank. Rogue and Remy were like Logan in that they never voiced an opinion both just saying that they would not be entering the battle at this time.

Piotr,John, and everyone else had left. They had their own lives to get back to and even though they were concerned the truth was they didn't hold out any hope that the baby had survived. She was too early, and Sinister was beyond evil. Even Victor and Raven eventually returned to their home, both agreed the baby was likely alive given Sinister's knowledge but they didn't feel she would be found any time soon.

Laura sat alone in the darkened parlor as Bobby silently passed. She stood and followed him as far as the hanger before letting him know she was there. "Where are you going?" Laura asked.

Bobby jumped but then said. "I know Emma's information was right, I don't care what Xavier said. I'm going after the baby myself."

"Logan said that Being part of a team means you have to have someone come with you on missions."

Bobby snorted. "No offense kid, but he said that to keep you from running off again. Logan's king of unauthorized solo missions."

"I believe your chances of success will increase with my assistance."

"Probably. Until I get back, and Logan kills me for bringing you along." Bobby said as he turned away. He was almost to the plane when he added. "Come on kid, I'd rather die from Logan than Sinister."

~0~O~0~

Remy was sitting on the roof when the plane went by. He wasn't surprised to see it, assuming that either Logan or Bobby had decided to follow Emma's lead after all. Bobby had been trying all week to build a team, and Logan wanted to follow every chance of a lead no matter how slim.

Remy finished the cigarette he had promised his wife he had given up when he heard the roar of Logan's bike. "Bobby then." Remy said as he climbed back to his room. He debated waking Rogue, he needed to inform her and the others that Bobby and Logan left, but she needed her sleep. She hadn't had a full night's sleep in weeks. He decided to wake the others first, then her, letting her sleep a bit longer.

The plane had apparently already woken Ororo who had her hand raised to knock when he opened the door. He put a finger to his lips and gestured to Scott's door instead. She nodded and headed further down the hall, as he went the other way to knock on Hank's door. After they woke Scott and Hank, and the others were informed that both Bobby and Logan had left, they woke Xavier, then Remy woke Rogue (reluctantly).

With in ten minutes of the plane leaving, everyone was gathered in the War room, Laura's absence was noticed, but it was assumed she was with Logan. Nathan was still asleep in his father's arms, though Scott handed him off t Rogue when she came in. He knew as well as the rest of them that he would be joining the search for Bobby and Rogue wouldn't.

Xavier entered last, as Scott and Hank were arguing with Remy over whether he should come or stay behind to watch after Rogue and the baby. Scott and Remy felt that Rogue was perfectly capable of keeping herself and Nathan safe in the mansion while Hank felt they shouldn't be left alone. This was further complicated by Warren and Elizabeth's absence. The couple had offered to take Piotr and John back to Genosha and had stayed a few days to catch up on the Island's current needs. They were expected back sometime the next day.

Charles listened to everyone fighting for a few minutes before he intervened. "Logan has already gone to retrieve Bobby. He will report in when he learns the location, until then we do not know where to begin searching."

"Of course we do Professor, Bobby's been saying all week he wanted to follow Emma's lead. That where he would have gone." Scott said.

"Unless he went to meet Emma." Hank added.

"Why would he do that?" Scott said. "He already told everyone here what his plan was."

"Scott is correct." Ororo said. "Robert informed everyone of his intent. Do we have the letter?"

"Bobby has it." Xavier said. "Logan will keeps us informed,it is not wise to go in blind."

"I have the address. It was in the computer files I uncovered." Remy said. "Before you ask, Oui I told Bobby already. It confirmed Emma had information, at least."

"Alright. Remy,Ororo,Hank your with me, we're going after them. Rogue please watch after Nathan for me, and let Warren and Elizabeth know what's happening when they arrive." Scott said. "I know you don't like it Professor, but we have to go Bobby can't do this alone. Especially if Sinister's men are there."

Xavier agreed, and the others left. Unfortunately, thanks to the Genosha trip, they had to take one of the cars since both planes were in use. Logan had a twenty minute lead on them, but Bobby was likely already there or would be soon.

~0~O~0~

Logan had no idea that Bobby had Laura with him, or that he was on his way to Sinister's location. He himself had decided that he was tired of the arguing and went to look into the lead himself. He had heard the plane leave, but assumed that someone was making another trip to the safe house for the newest batch of refugees, since it was about the time they usually did. The trip would take him about two hours if he followed speed limits. He arrived in just over an hour.

It was then that he realized where the plane had gone. He spotted it not far from the address, and could smell both Bobby and Laura. He growled at the idea of them going into the place without back up, before following their trail.

Laura had lead the way inside. She was trained for stealth, something Bobby was not. She also had Logan's enhanced senses in her favor. She realized as they approached that the house was nearly empty. She sensed only three people inside, including the baby. Confidant that they could handle the situation, she lead the way inside.

Sinister was in his lab, with Rachel. He had noticed a strange reading from the baby earlier tonight as he ran his final test before removing her from the equipment. She was ready to breathe on her own now, but something was different about her. After examining his results, he decided that it was possible the child was simply showing early signs of her mutation.

Sinister decided testing was in order to confirm this theory. He was setting up the test when an alarm informed him that someone had entered the house. He was mildly annoyed by the interruption, but sent Malice to intercept the intruders.

Malice arrived in the hallway, locking the lab door behind herself. Bobby and Laura saw her right away, Laura told Bobby to go ahead and that she would handle Malice. He didn't like the idea of leaving the younger girl to fight alone, but felt it was the best plan. Laura then dived into an attack on the other woman before she could try to stop Bobby.

Bobby slipped passed the fight, and began freezing the lock on the door of the lab. Sinister ignored the noise on the other side of the door as he attached the last electrode to the baby. He had no intention of using a current high enough to kill the subject, she was too valuable of a specimen, just high enough to garner a response from her mutation.

Bobby made it through the door as Sinister activated his machine, and the Phoenix reacted. A force field like shield surrounded the baby,cutting off the current before it actually reached her, at the same time a blast of energy shot off in all directions, lighting fire to the room. Bobby had enough time to recognize what had happened, but not enough to react. Laura's battle with Malice had been short lived, and she arrived after destroying Malice, moments after Bobby.

~0~O~0~

Logan made his way inside, after calling the mansion to update them on the situation. Rogue told him the others were a few minutes behind him, but he refused to wait for them.

He entered the hallway, and realized Laura's handiwork right away. The creature that had been Malice was spread all over the walls and floor. Logan walked through the mess without concern,approaching the door at the end of the hall. He could smell the burnt room before he entered, this was more of a concern for him.

Laura sat beside the bassinet, covered in soot and blood. The baby appeared to be sleeping peacefully, completely unharmed. She looked up when Logan came in, with a frown on her face, but he didn't appear angry with her.

"I disobeyed." Laura said.

"Nah." Logan replied as he knelt next to her. "You did as I said, you made sure he didn't go alone."

"I was unable to assist him." Laura replied.

"That happens sometimes kid." Logan said. " You completed the mission. Let's get you out of here."

Logan led her from the room, before returning for the baby. He could smell Phoenix on her, like Jean. He hoped the baby would allow him to pick her up. Phoenix recognized him as a friend, and finally retreated back into the back of Rachel's mind, leaving her to be cared for by those who cared for her mother before her.

Logan gently lifted the baby, before wrapping her in his jacket and taking her out to Laura. "The others will be here in a few minutes. We'll leave then."

"What about Bobby?" Laura asked.

"I'll take care of him when they get here." Logan said. "Sinister's gone. He ain't in there anywhere."

"I know." Laura said. " He disappeared just as the fire reached him, into a portal."

"Likely wouldn'ta killed him anyway. He seems like the type." Logan grunted. He heard the car pull up outside.

"Come on. They don't need to come in here." Logan said, as he lead Laura out of the front door.

Scott rushed to them right away,when he saw Logan's jacket wrapped in his arms. Logan handed the baby off without a word, before Ororo and Remy joined them.

"Where's Bobby?" Ororo asked. Logan shook his head.

"Scott, Hank. Take the baby back to the plane. Laura go with them, make sure they stay safe. Remy load my bike up will ya? I don't wanna leave it."

Everyone nodded, and Ororo started to follow him back into the house as the others left to do as he asked. " No. You don't need to see what's in there Ro. Take the car home, I'll get Bobby and meet the others at the plane."

"Is it truly that bad?" Ororo asked.

"It's worse." Logan said. "Just... go."

Logan went back inside without another word. He searched the house for a few minutes, before finding a bedroom upstairs. He took the bedspread from the bed, not caring one way or another that it was clearly expensive. After he wrapped Bobby up, he carried him outside, and through the woods to the plane, refusing to look back.

~0~O~0~

Xavier and Rogue waited for word from the others, as they sat in the War room. First, Logan called and informed them that he reached the location, only to find the plane. Rogue told him the others would be there soon, but he hung up on her.

She was growing increasingly agitated the longer they waited for word. Eventually, after what felt like hours, but was actually about forty five minutes, her husband called.

"We have the baby."Remy said in a tired voice. Before she could react he added. "We lost Bobby."

"Oh my God, what happened?" Rogue asked,ignoring Xavier's curious expression for now.

"Logan didn't say, and he wouldn't let anyone go inside. He should be here in a minute." Remy replied. " We'll be there soon, bringing the plane back. Try to stay calm until we get there okay? Don't go anywhere or anything."

Rogue hung up, and turned to Xavier to tell him what she knew so far, which wasn't much. He paled at the news that they had lost Bobby, before she decided she should call Elizabeth and Warren, and he decided to call Genosha, to let everyone know the baby had been found.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the long delay between chapters. As promised earlier this story is not abandoned, I however am limited on time so updates are going to be slower, though hopefully not as slow as last time.


	41. Chapter 41

What is to Come

Chapter Forty One

Charles asked Ororo and Remy to join him as he went to inform the Drakes of their loss. He felt it should be done in person, and the others agreed. Shortly after everyone had returned to the mansion, and the baby was declared stable they set out on the four hour drive to Boston.

So much had happened in the last few hours, that it seemed hard to believe that the sun was just barely on the horizon when they arrived. Ororo wondered if they should wait for a later hour to take the news to the Drakes, but Remy insisted that it would be for the best to arrive before anyone had a chance to leave for their jobs, or in the brother's case,school. After all, he reasoned, the only thing worse than receiving bad news was receiving it alone.

Ororo had no counter argument to this so they made their way across the city to the Drakes' residence. Charles had been silent during the entire exchange never voicing an opinion one way or the other. Had they been in a better state of mind both of them would have found this odd.

It was just after seven when Remy knocked on the door, with Ororo next to him, and Charles directly behind them. Ororo was dressed in a dark pantsuit, Charles in a dark suit as well, leaving Remy to feel slightly under-dressed in his normal dress shirt and slacks that he had worn while teaching. He also made sure to wear a pair of dark sunglasses to hide his eyes, and had his hair held in a ponytail.

He hadn't been uncomfortable until he realized that Charles wasn't the one who was to speak to the Drakes first. At some point during the drive Charles had decided the news would come better from one of Bobby's co-workers instead of his former headmaster. Remy didn't agree but he wasn't asked his opinion.

Mr. Drake answered the door, with a scowl on his face when he spotted Ororo and Charles. "What do you people want here? You're not welcome anywhere near my family."

"Sir, we've come to give you important news, is your wife home?" Remy asked politely, getting the impression that this man's obvious disdain for Charles was the reason for his own presence.

"My wife does not need to be bothered by you anymore than I do, now go away before the neighbors see you."

"Sir, it's about your son."Remy said as he caught the door Bobby's father had tried to slam in their faces. Before he could say anything else his wife appeared in the hall, asking who was at the door.

Glaring at them all, Mr. Drake gestured for them to come inside, so the neighbors would not see them. " Get in here and make it quick. Your kind aren't welcome in my house."

They all filed in and Remy joined Ororo on the couch with Charles beside them as they awaited for Mr. Drake to get his son. Mrs. Drake offered them coffee, which they all politely declined. Mr. Drake returned a moment later and joined his wife on the couch.

There was an awkward silence, before Remy asked. "So is your son joining us or shall we continue without him?"

"I told him to stay upstairs." Mr. Drake snapped.

"Remy glared as Ororo sighed, and Charles finally spoke. " I'm sorry to inform you that we have come with terrible news. Late last night I'm afraid that we had an altercation with a severely unstable individual, who had abducted a pregnant mother. We were able to rescue her daughter, thanks to your son Robert."

"That's nice." Mr. Drake interrupted. "I assume everyone involved was among your kind since none of this was on the news. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"Sir, that wasn't all." Ororo replied.

Mr. Drake sighed before returning to the seat he had begun to stand from. His wife frowned at him,so he gestured for them to continue. "I am sad to inform you that Robert did not survive." Charles finished heavily.

It took a moment for the news to sink in, as Bobby's parents stared at them. Then his mother began to cry as his father demanded they leave. Charles nodded and the others stood and began walking toward the door. Mrs. Drake stopped them as they were about to leave to ask them how her son had died.

"He went to save the baby, he was caught in an explosion. If he hadn't been there the baby wouldn't be here." Remy said. "He's a hero Ma'am. He saved that baby."

"He was a freak, just like you lot, and I'm sure that baby is the same. " Mr. Drake spit out hatefully. " I only have one son, the other one stopped being ours a long time ago. Why don't you people all just move to your freak island and leave the rest of us in peace?"

Mrs. Drake cried harder at her husband's words, and Charles shook his head at Ororo who seemed about to say something in response. He informed them that he would call them with the information after they arranged the funeral before leading the others out of the door.

~0~O~0~

Erik announced the discovery of the baby and the loss of Robert Drake moments after he had been informed by Charles. He then informed everyone that the funeral would be telecast to the residents of the island, via screens set up in the city center of Hammer Bay. Afterward he was confronted by his children wanting to attend in person. He refused saying that no one was leaving the island at this time. Sinister was still at large, he wasn't risking the safety of any of his people.

Many Genoshians,including Kurt and Amanda, came to Erik in the following hours and days making the same request as his children. Erik repeated his statement to each of them. No one was leaving the Island at this point, it wasn't safe. No one was entering the island without Xavier interviewing them first, and Erik as well. He wasn't risking the safety of his people, even if that meant making them feel like he was holding the prisoner.

A few days later the population gathered in the city center of the Capitol to watch the funeral. Kurt and Amanda sat with the Maximoffs and the Leeches on the dais the large screen behind them, and a second screen facing them from the other end of the center. Erik had prepared a speech, as had Kurt. Bobby had been Kurt's friend for years, he regretted his recent argument with Bobby which had left them both rather cold to each other.

Charles Xavier gave the first speech as the world watched him inform them all how Robert Drake was truly a hero. Robert's family had refused to attend, however his mother watched from home. A few television networks picked up the funeral, since word had spread that the man was important enough that Genosha had made it a holiday.

"Robert Drake was a brave and selfless man, who devoted his life defending others. He was a devoted teacher, a faithful friend, and one of my best students. He spent countless hours in defense of others who could not defend themselves. He recently devoted every waking moment to the search of a missing child, a search that though he was successful in finding her cost him his life. Robert died a hero, and shall be forever remembered for his selfless sacrifice." Charles concluded.

Scott stood last, after several speeches given both at the mansion, and on Genosha, holding his daughter with his son by his side. "I am forever grateful to Bobby. Without him I'm not sure I would have ever seen my daughter again... I wish I could thank him in person, but he died so my daughter could come home. I can never repay my debt to him, but I will do everything I can to honor his memory."

~0~O~0~

Sinister watched as well. Angered at their gloating-in his opinion- over this momentary set back. He scoffed at their speeches, at their tears. He was far more interested in what had occurred in his lab than the funeral however he decided to watch to ensure he knew what the revealed. By the end of the final speech, given by Scott Summers who thanked Robert for saving his child and bringing her home to him, Sinister decided it had been a waste of time.

After all, this was all just a minor set back. Everything would still go as planned, he simply had to adjust a few items on the agenda to accommodate for the child's ability. No doubt an unexpected side effect of the treatment. He had made a note of the incident, intent to check on the other children he treated to determinate if any of the others had prematurely developed powers.

~0~O~0~

Victor and Raven waited until after everyone had left before they approached Logan. He had remained at the graveside, knowing they wanted to talk to him. Robert's gave was near Jean's, not next to it, but nearby. Logan stood looking off to Jean's grave while leaning on Bobby's.

Victor waited another few minutes to see if Logan would speak first, when it became apparent he wasn't Victor finally cleared his throat. "So. We going after the bastard or not?"

"Not." Logan growled. "I ain't leaving them here to get grabbed again. You are though."

" I've never known you to back down from a fight Logan, ever." Raven said. Her tone left it unclear whether she approved of his choice or not.

" I'm preparing for a bigger fight, not backing down from one." Logan growled. He didn't like the idea of staying behind, but he didn't trust anyone else with the task watching over the children.

Victor nodded,understanding. He would handle this with Raven's help, Logan was going to care for the children because they didn't need the kids grabbed again that would just complicate the mission. Victor took Raven's arm and lead her away. They had a lot of planning to do.

~0~O~0~

Emma allowed herself a few minutes to break down over the news while she showered before she pulled herself together and put on her cold bitch mask. Too much was at stake to break cover now. She couldn't let the others suspect her,especially Sebastian. Finding the location of the child was only part of the mission.

Once she had pushed the pain down as far as she could, and pulled herself together she joined Sebastian downstairs. The others would be arriving soon. She sat next to Sebastian on the sofa to await the arrival of the others, he was immersed in reading the latest file he'd been given to prepare himself for office, and didn't seem to see her at first.

Emma had just begun to relax, hopeful that she'd managed to hide all evidence of her prior unhappiness, when he finally spoke. " Are you done being emotional then?" he said a he set the file aside. "Let's hope so, it's unbecoming of one of our station."

" I am in perfect control of my emotions,darling." Emma replied in her usual cool demeanor. "Your concern, while appreciated, is unfounded."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow and said in a mocking tone. "Are you denying the sound I heard from our bathroom only half an hour ago dearest?"

"Not at all." Emma replied, growing worried about the entire confrontation. Lying would provoke him, but telling him the truth would be disastrous. "I freely admit, but only to you, that occasionally I am overwhelmed by the sheer audacity of the humans to attempt to contain us. I weep in joy for the idea of finally crushing them under our boot."

"I see." he said as he hugged her to him. "For a moment I was concerned that you were grieving the recent loss of your lover. I understand he was buried today."

"Who?" Emma tried to play off." Oh you mean that Drake fellow? He was simply a means to an end. Nothing more."

"Then why were you passing information to him just a few weeks ago?" He asked.

Emma froze. Her cover was blown, she knew it as well as he did. She didn't know how he'd found out, but she knew she'd be lucky to get out of this alive, let alone unscathed. Before she could think of a response to his question, the others arrived. With them arrived the answer to how she'd been discovered. Sinister slipped into the room last. Emma decided her only chance was to try to deny it all. And escape as soon as their backs were turned.

~0~O~0~

Now that the funeral was over, and both babies were safe with their father, everyone returned to attempting to talk Rogue into going to Genosha. Kurt had called her, as had Wanda and Kitty. Surprisingly so had Logan.

Charles however, insisted that both the Summers and the LeBeaus would be safer at the mansion. For her part, Rogue was torn on what to do. Finally she decided, if Remy went she would go, if he stayed so would she. She already knew that there was nowhere on Earth that she was going to feel safe unless her husband was with her, and even then she didn't feel safe exactly. Just safer.

Scott too was trying to decide if going to Genosha was the better option or if staying in the mansion would be safer. On one hand, his family had already been kidnapped from the mansion before. On the other hand he didn't trust Magneto. He had been their enemy far longer than the ally.

Remy was suffering from similar concerns as both of the others. The mansion wasn't safe in his opinion, but then Genosha was a lot bigger, with a lot more people, raising the risk of an enemy in their midst. On the other hand, he had believed Bobby, and no longer trusted Xavier as a result. The man was clearly hiding something from them all, and until Remy could figure out what it was, he wasn't letting his guard down which is why he would have prefered if his wife was safely out of the way in Genosha.

In the end however, both the Summers and the LeBeaus stayed for the time being. Though it was agreed that there would be no more outsiders housed on the mansion grounds until further notice. Instead they would be secured in a nearby location to be kept safe.

The mansion, once so full of life, was quiet now. Ororo, Logan,Laura, Remy, Scott, Rogue and the Professor, along with Scott's son and daughter, were the only full time residents. Charles' dream of peace seemed to be crumbling before them, and they had no idea how to fix it, or if they wanted to.


End file.
